Cacti of the Dryland Mesa Garden
Can you find all of these cacti? If you aren’t sure which cactus is which, use the Identification Guide
on the back side. Be careful because the guide does not contain all of the cacti found in the garden.
Fishhook Cactus
Purple Prickly Pear
Ferocactus wislizeni
Opuntia violacea
Engelmann’s Hedgehog Cactus
Echinocereus engelmannii
Fendler’s Hedgehog Cactus
Echinocereus fendleri
Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus
Echinocereus pectinatus
Spiny Cholla
Engelmann’s Prickly Pear
Cylindropuntia spinosior
Opuntia engelmannii
Silver Cholla
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa
Cream Pincushion
Mammillaria gummifera
Beavertail Prickly Pear
Opuntia basilaris
Note: The Identification Guide uses images from and is an adaptation of “Easy Field Guide to Common Desert Cactus” by Richard and Sharon Nelson
Diamond Cholla
Cylindropuntia ramosissima
Sprawling Prickly Pear
Opuntian phaeacantha
Identification Guide to the Cacti of the Dryland Mesa Garden
Are the stems flattened or round?
round
flattened
Does the stem have continuous
ribs that run from top to bottom?
no
yes
What is the diameter
of the stem?
Fishhook
Barrel Cactus
no
Do the stems have bands
of different colors?
no
Cream
Pincushion
yes
yes
Engelmann’s Hedgehog
Cactus
Fendler’s Hedgehog
Cactus
What color are the stems?
yes
purple
Is the stem covered with
diamond-shaped scales?
Diamond Cholla
no
yes
Beavertail
Prickly Pear
yes
Is the main central spine
flattened and twisted?
Rainbow
Hedgehog Cactus
no
Does the cactus
have branches?
Less than 4”
More than 5”
Do the stems have long spines?
Purple Prickly
Pear
no
Silver Cholla
Does the plant grow low to
the ground or grow upright?
Low to ground
Are the spines long?
yes
another color
Sprawling
Prickly Pear
no
Cane Cholla
upright
Engelmann’s
Prickly Pear