The teddy bear cholla is a cactus which is found in Death Valley National Park in California, USA and prefers to grow in the lower desert elevations. It is a very attractive looking plant that you would think is as soft as a teddy bear from a distance because of the dense thickness of its spines but in reality they are extremely sharp and painful if touched.
The teddy bear cholla blooms in the spring with green or yellow flowers and then an oval shaped fruit appears. The plant stands approximately 1 to 5 feet tall with branches at the top of the trunk which grow almost horizontally. As the teddy bear cholla ages the lower branches fall off and the trunk darkens.
The stems of the cactus are easily removed and the ground then becomes covered with cholla balls and small plants will start a new life. Cholla balls can also get stuck on an animals fur if they rub against them and be carried across the desert until they eventually fall off and new plants will reproduce in those locations.
Teddy Bear Cholla, Opuntia bigelovii, Cactus, near Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley, Death Valley National Park, California, USA, North America.
I photographed this photo with the digital SLR camera model Canon EOS-1DS, aperture of f/9.0, exposure time of 1/125 sec. on ISO 100, as always I used a original Canon Lens, the focus lenght for this picture was 180mm.
Back to top of photo page.
Buy Stock Photo
Photo Print
