Flower profile

Silver cholla

Cylindropuntia echinocarpa

Native in the lower 48

Silver cholla is a flowering plant that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 3 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in March–May.

4states

3of our state lists

18,889U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: California, Nevada, Utah

Quick look

Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of cactus known by the common names silver cholla, golden cholla, and Wiggins' cholla. It was formerly named Opuntia echinocarpa.
From Wikipedia's article Cylindropuntia echinocarpa, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Cactaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as a shrub with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 4 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
In California, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in March–May. ^iNaturalist
In Nevada, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–June. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 12,647 research-grade sightings of it in California, ranking #64 among the 110 flowers on our California list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 4,830 research-grade sightings of it in Nevada, ranking #6 among the 110 flowers on our Nevada list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 739 research-grade sightings of it in Utah, ranking #80 among the 109 flowers on our Utah list. ^iNaturalist

Silver cholla gift ideas

Handmade silver cholla gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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Silver cholla art print
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Silver cholla sticker
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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (777 records)

Bloom time in each of our 3 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
California	–	March–May	12,647
Nevada	–	April–June	4,830
Utah	–	few records	739

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
California: Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). NatureServe has no California rank for it. ^{CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)}
Nevada: Not listed Not on Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010). NatureServe has no Nevada rank for it. ^{NAC 527.010}
Utah: No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead. NatureServe has no Utah rank for it.
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records silver cholla in 4 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah.

California counties with USDA records: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Mono, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo.

Nevada counties with USDA records: Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye.

Utah counties with USDA records: Beaver, Washington.

More California flowers

California barrel cactus

Ferocactus cylindraceus

Native

🌼 Blooms in CA: February–May

Beavertail pricklypear

Opuntia basilaris

Native

🌼 Blooms: March–May

Plains pricklypear

Opuntia polyacantha

Native

🌼 Blooms: April–July

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile CYEC3.
iNaturalist, Cylindropuntia echinocarpa: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Cylindropuntia echinocarpa (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
California: California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026).
California: California noxious weed species (3 CCR § 4500).
Nevada: Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010).
Nevada: Nevada noxious weeds (NAC 555.010).
Utah: Utah noxious weed list (Utah Admin. Code R68-9-3).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Cylindropuntia echinocarpa (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Michael J. Papay via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.