Canotia Species, Castela, Chaparro Amargosa, Crucifixion Thorn

We have several of these growing on our hillside property. They are nice looking plants that we have never had to water and they appear t...Read Moreo do well in erosion control. Our hill is granite hill with washes and mostly crushed granite, dirt and and wash beds. We have shaped and pruned the ones closest to the house (so we can walk under them) and they seem to do equally well in both the wash areas and the non-wash areas. They attract a lot of bees during blooming season (good for our garden).

Also called: Holacantha, Castela emori, Corona-de-Cristo, and Rosario. The deciduous leaves on this plant are small insignificant scales....Read More Most of the photosynthesis is produced in the pointed branches.