Euphorbia tirucalli
This endangered species is recognized for its light green, pencil-thin, bush-like branches with miniature leaflets. It is fast-growing reaching heights of eight to ten feet or more in the southwest desert. In its native…
Stetsonia coryne
The distinctive, night-blooming cactus grows thirty feet tall and ten to fifteen feet wide. Its columnar, grayish-green stems are approximately four inches in diameter with toothpick-like, grayish-white spines, protrudin…
Opuntia basilaris
This interesting, oval-shaped cactus grows two to three feet tall and four feet wide. It has short, greenish-purple segments resembling the tail of a beaver. Brown, wooly looking, bristly spines grow along its edges, whi…
Ferocactus glaucescens
This barrel cactus is about two feet tall and wide with a globular shape and a greenish-blue skin. As the plant matures, it may produce multiple heads and forms a large mound. It has thick, whitish-gray spines that are d…
Myrtillocactus geometrizans
This columnar, architectural, tree-like specimen grows to fifteen feet with a candelabra form. Its spiny green stems are thick and heavily ribbed. It has radial and central spines that fill each areole. When the plant is…
Myrtillocactus cochal
The large, sprawling cactus is admired for its funnel-shaped, ivory flowers, and reaches heights of eight to ten feet tall and wide. It has multiple, dark green branches with a very woody trunk. The branches have six to…
Euphorbia antisyphilitica
The low-growing shrub has clusters of thin, upright, bluish-green, pencil-like stems that grow in clumps to about three feet. The flowers are small, pinkish-white and occur in clusters on mostly leafless stems in spring…
Echinopsis terscheckii
One of the largest of the Echinopsis species, this fast-growing, attractive, columnar cactus reaches heights of twenty-five feet or more. Mature plants will develop branches or side arms that are ten inches in diameter a…
Euphorbia royleana
The attractive, fleshy succulent has deep green branches and ornamental, knobby bumps on its columns. It grows eight to ten feet tall and four to six feet wide. In warm weather, it produces a whorl of small, oval, short…
Euphorbia milii
The bushy, spiny succulent develops shoots that can reach up to three to four feet in height, with a two-foot spread. It has half-inch thorns that adorn its branches and stems. The tough, leathery foliage grows on slende…
Echinopsis hybrid
This fast-growing group of cacti varies in size, from small, low-growing globular plants to large, branching, columnar specimens. Some of the hybrids within the species have thin, trailing stems and produce many offsets,…
Portulacaria afra
The attractive, evergreen succulent can grow to eight feet or more, in its natural enviornment. It has small, circular, fleshy, bright green foliage on reddish-brown stems. The leaves of these plants are edible and have…
Opuntia englemannii
Englemann’s Prickly Pear is native to the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. The sage green pads of this cactus blend well in desert landscapes and provide a great backdrop for the colorful fruit that adorns the pads in the…
Austrocylindropuntia subulata
The branching, tree-like specimen grows to thirteen feet tall and about ten feet wide, with cylindrical deep green leaves. New growth does not have many spines, but as the plant matures yellowish-red spines develop on it…
Ferocactus wislizenii
The Fishhook Barrel Cactus is recognized by the curved and hooked central spine and by the large, ribbed, “barrel-shaped” body. Bright orange to yellow colored flowers will appear in September and October in a ring aroun…
Echinocactus grusonii
The golden barrel cactus has a globe-like appearance and is recognized by its magnificent color that comes from vertical yellow ribs that line its edges. The spines of the golden barrel cactus will light up any landscape…
Echinopsis spachiana
The golden torch is a beautiful, multi-stem, columnar cactus that produces many upright branches and grows five to seven feet tall. It is lime-green with long, radial, yellowish-white spines that turn gray as the plant a…
Euphorbia rigida
This mounding evergreen grows to about two feet tall with a three-foot spread, and has attractive, narrow, pointed, blue-green, sharp leaves. It produces rounded clusters of papery chartreuse yellow flower bracts that ap…
Opuntia ficus indica
This immense, branching cactus with a massive trunk grows to fifteen feet tall and ten feet wide. It produces large, oblong pads that are either spineless, or have a few spines. The cup-shaped blossoms appear in late spr…
Crassula ovata
Jade plant is noted for its interesting green, oval-shaped succulent foliage that grows out from a multi-branching trunk. The shrub can grow as tall as twelve feet in its native habitat of South Africa. However, in the S…
Euphorbia macrocarpus
The attractive, slow-growing succulent is recognized by its bright red flowers that resemble an elegant shoe or slipper. The plant grows six feet tall and wide in a clumping, upright growth habit, with small pencil-like…
Pachycereus marginatus
This handsome cactus has tall, columnar trunks and reaches heights of twenty feet, or more. It produces clusters of stout, cylindrical stems that resemble a pipe organ. The plant develops many arms during its lifetime an…
Cereus repandus
The cactus is admired for its knobby branches, flowers that open at night and red, apple-like fruit. It is a moderate grower, reaching heights of ten to twenty feet with a spread of fifteen feet or more. However, the var…
Fouquieria splendens
The Ocotillo is a mainstay of Arizona desert landscaping. It is made of many spiny unbranched stems with bright orange-red flowers. The Ocotillo plant is unrivaled for its graceful form and makes a wonderful accent plant…
Cephalocereus senilis
The slow-growing cactus reaches about twenty feet or more in its native habitat, producing many columnar stems that are usually un-branched. Its species name, senilis, comes from the Latin word meaning old man. As the na…
Stenocereus thurberi
This distinctive night-blooming cactus grows in a columnar, tree-like form to twenty feet tall or more, producing multiple stems that form clumps. Mature plants will reach twelve to fifteen feet wide with many branches.…
Euphorbia mauritanica
The pencil milk bush is a pencil-like, branching plant with upright, bright green, cylindrical stems that sprout in the shape of a small shrub. Its small leaves will grow along the grayish green stem. The clumping, low-g…
Cereus peruvianus f. monstrose
The cactus is admired for its knobby branches, flowers that open at night and red, apple-like fruit. It is a moderate grower, reaching heights of ten to twenty feet with a spread of fifteen feet or more. However, the var…
Opuntia santa-rita
Native to the Sonoran desert, the purple prickly pear grows in clumps, usually to about 4 feet tall by 5 feet wide. This cactus appears much like a shrub. The large leaf pads develop a purple tinge in the cool, dry winte…
Euphorbia resinifera
This low-growing succulent has erect, thick, bluish-green to lime green, four-sided stems with small brown thorns, reaching one to two feet with a three- to four-foot spread. Historically, it is one of the oldest documen…
Carnegiea gigantea
This giant monarch cactus grows to fifty feet or more with a large spread, depending on how many arms it produces in its lifetime. It is slow growing-only one inch a year-with a thick, massive, columnar trunk and wax-lik…
Echinopsis peruviana
This species is closely related to Echinopsis pachanoi and the two are sometimes confused with each other. The columnar Echinopsis peruviana is a branching, tree-like specimen that reaches fifteen feet tall. San Pedro ma…
Opuntia santa-rita
This low-growing prickly pear cactus forms large clumps and has a short trunk growing to heights of two to five feet with an equal spread. It produces flat, round, reddish-purple pads that grow to eight inches. The color…
Pachycereus schottii
The columnar cactus grows fifteen feet tall and about ten feet wide, branching upwards from its strong base at ground level to form thickets. Each stem produces about five to ten ribs and clusters of areolas with bristle…
Cleistocactus strausii
This striking cactus develops slender columns up to eight to ten feet tall. It is a vigorous grower that has interesting, silvery blue spines on hairy, bluish-gray columns. The silver torch begins to flower when the colu…
Pachycereus schottii f. monstrosus
The slow-growing, smooth-skinned, columnar cactus grows ten to twelve feet with tall stems that branch at the base to form a short trunk. It is a slow-growing cactus with smooth skin and no visible spines. The totem pole…
