cholla

A cactus of the genus Cylindropuntia — the most aggressively armed plant in the Sonoran Desert. Cholla segments detach at the slightest contact and embed themselves in skin, clothing, or the paws of passing animals with barbed spines that resist removal. The jumping cholla earns its name not because it jumps but because it seems to — the segments attach so readily that victims swear the plant reached for them. Despite this, cholla provides critical habitat: cactus wrens nest in its spiny armor, and woodrats build their middens around its base.