Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures ( Cacti & Desert ), 0 by htop

htop wrote:
Giant Tree Cholla, Tree Cholla, Candelabrum Cactus, Cane Cactus, Cane Cholla, Walking Stick Cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata), Cactaceae Family, Texas native, blooms late spring through late summer


Tree cholla's native range extends from the grasslands in West Texas (Big Bend Region) and west of San Saba and it can be found in Burnet, Bexar and Victoria counties. The tree cholla has a beautiful shape and is exceptionally nice when in bloom. It usually blooms prolifically in early summer and I have seen it prolifically bloom again in late summer. It is a great addition to a wildscape, rock garden and xeriscape, but needs plenty of room to allow it to grow to its full potential. The Navajos used poultices made of the cleaned joints of chollas. They despined the joints, split them lengthwise, heated them and applied them to relieve the pain of arthritis. The roots of cholla have been chewed to treat diarrhea.

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/66650/index.html

Its growth habit ... this is a very large tree cholla. I included the car in the photo for referencing the size of the plant.