Cactaceae
Christmas cactus
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Genus
- Cylindropuntia
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Common names
By language (4)
- Chinese
- 一柱香, 姬珊瑚
- English
- Christmas cactus, Tesajo cactus
- Polish
- Cylindropuncja cienkołodygowa
- Spanish
- Tasajillo, Cylindorpuntia brittonii
Synonyms
- Cylindropuntia brittonii (J.G.Ortega) Backeb.
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis f. longispina (Engelm.) Guiggi
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. badia (A.Berger) F.M.Knuth
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. brevispina (Engelm.) F.M.Knuth
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. glauca Backeb.
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. longispina (Engelm.) F.M.Knuth
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. pleuriseta (A.Berger) F.M.Knuth
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. robustior (A.Berger) F.M.Knuth
- Cylindropuntia leptocaulis var. vaginata (Engelm.) F.M.Knuth
- Cylindropuntia mortolensis (Britton & Rose) F.M.Knuth
- Grusonia leptocaulis (DC.) G.D.Rowley
- Opuntia brittonii G.J.Ortega
- Opuntia fragilis var. frutescens Engelm. & A.Gray
- Opuntia frutescens Engelm.
- Opuntia frutescens var. brevispina Engelm.
- Opuntia frutescens var. longispina Engelm.
- Opuntia gracilis Pfeiff.
- Opuntia gracilis var. subpatens Salm-Dyck
- Opuntia leptocaulis DC.
- Opuntia leptocaulis f. brevispina (Engelm.) Schelle
- Opuntia leptocaulis f. longispina (Engelm.) Schelle
- Opuntia leptocaulis f. vaginata (Engelm.) Schelle
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. badia A.Berger
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. brevispina (Engelm.) S.Watson
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. brittonii (G.J.Ortega) Bravo
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. longispina (Engelm.) A.Berger
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. pleuriseta A.Berger
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. robustior A.Berger
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. stipata J.M.Coult.
- Opuntia leptocaulis var. vaginata (Engelm.) S.Watson
- Opuntia mortolensis Britton & Rose
- Opuntia ramulifera Salm-Dyck
- Opuntia stipata (J.M.Coult.) K.Schum.
- Opuntia vaginata Engelm.
- Opuntia virgata Pfeiff.
- Opuntia virgata C.F.Först.
Flowers
- In flower
- April to July (from 565 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Shrub
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Lower 48 states: native
Photos
FlowerPhoto: Liliana Ramírez-Freire, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Daniel, CC0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Brooke Smith, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Francisco Martínez González, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FruitPhoto: Brian Finzel, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: User:Dhileas, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Amante Darmanin from Malta, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Turner Brockman, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Amante Darmanin from Malta, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Amante Darmanin from Malta, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Amante Darmanin from Malta, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.