Cholla Cacti: Flower Buds, Fruit, and Ritual Pain
Cylindropuntia imbricata Haw.
Any plant capable of inflicting physical pain on a human being has been used by men for thousands of years to ritualistically inflict pain upon themselves and others.
We shall find that Cylindropuntia imbricata supports this weird law.
Beyond its role as an arbiter of masochism and penance, we find a neglected vegetable waiting with open arms in the crispy semidesert scrublands of middle America, Mexico, and similar climes of Australia where it is reviled as a noxious weed. C. imbricata— with its vicious spines and electric purple flowers—offers to feed and comfort you. You can almost hear it imploring the starving wanderer, or intrepid chef:
I DARE YA TO GIT OVER HERE AND GIVE ME A HUG!!!
Okay, talking cactus!
Welcome to the thorny and fearsome home of the secret givers.
Welcome to the world of Cylindropuntia imbricata:
THE Cholla CACTi
Family — Cactaceae
Family Characteristics — Cactaceae family members tend to be succulent with spines.
Aliases — candelabrum cactus, chainlink cactus, chandelier cactus, cholla, tree cholla, walking stick (UNITED STATES/ENGLISH); devil's rope rear, rope pear (AUSTRALIA/ENGLISH) coyonoxtle, xoconochtle, xoconochtli (NáHUATL/MEXICO) cardenche, coyonostle, coyonostli, entraña, joconochtle, joconostle, tasajo, tuna huell, tuna joconoxtla, velas de coyote, (SPANISH/MEXICO).
Binomial Etymology — The prefix, Cylindro-, from GREEK, refers to a roll or cylinder [2]. That is intuitive enough. Now, the genus, Opuntia, is said have been inspired by these words of Theophrastus in his Enquiry into Plants published some 300 years B.C.:
“… but even more surprising, occurs in those plants which emit roots from their leaves, as they say does a certain herb - which grows about Opus.
”
Opus was an ancient Grecian city whose inhabitants where known then as Opuntians [1]. Theophrastus’s description of a mysterious plant that emits roots directly from its leaves sounds a lot like the prickly pear cactus who’s paddles (which are modified stems that superficially resemble leaves) send out adventitious roots quite readily. The genus, Opuntia, thus honors our New World cacti as honorary denizens of the ancient city of Opus through the ancient words of Theophrastus.
Opuntia imbricata is widely understood as a synonym for Cylindropuntia imbricata, but beware of the rogue taxonomist. One may be liable to either fight or just condescend you to the death for such indisctinction.
On to the genus, imbricata:
imbric- is derived from LATIN and refers to a roof tile or shingle [2]. This genus is a category for various turtles, which makes sense, however, I’m not sure I can even spitball and explanation for how tiles relate to our Tree Cholla at this time. I shall consult the bones on this matter.
Binomial Pronunciation: — SILL-in-dro-PUNT-ee-uh ~ ihm-BRICK-aht-uh
Synonyms —Cereus imbricatus Haw. ; Opuntia rosea D.C., O. decipiens D.C., O. exuviata D.C., O. arborescens Engelm., O. magna Griffiths, O. spinotecta Griffiths.
The Cactaceae. v.1. Washington :Carnegie Institution of Washington,1919-1923. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32090005 (Figure one is “our guy”).
The Walking Stick Description
C. imbricata is a spiny cactus with a treelike, or shrublike growth habit who’s native range stretches from Mexico to Northern Colorado. They have two types of cladodes (succulent photosynthetic stems), ones with a plagiotropic habit (growing perpendicular to its host cladode) and others with an orthotropic growth habit (growing in a parallel direction to its parent cladode). The former serves a more robust photosynthetic function for the cactus, and are prone to dehiscence (falling off), while the latter serve a more transportive and structurally supportive role. Being a more structurally integral part, orthotropic cladodes tend to stay on the plant much longer [4].
The conspicuous spines are about 2-3 cm long nested in a tuft of 1mm long glochidia [5].
The 4-9 cm flowers are showy, electric purple, and teeming with anthers that move in response to being touched (thigmotropism).
Habitat
Native to the desert and semidesert areas from Mexico to Colorado.
Cholla Culinary Uses
Fruits
The TEWA used to harvest the fruit with sticks, rub the fruit on stones to remove the glochidia, boil the fruit, and add them to sweetened cornmeal porridge [6]. The ZUNI would harvest the fruit, remove the glochidia, and stew the fruit in a similar fashion, but would also dry the fruit for winter use; the dried fruit would then be ground into flour and added to cornmeal porridge [7].
After harvesting C. imbricata fruit with a wooden clothespin-esque contraption, the PIMA would roast the fruit in a buried earthen oven overnight among hot stones and saltbush. The fruits would then be mixed with a stick to removed the spines and glochidia, and dried for future use. The stored fruits were reconstituted in boiling water and added to cornmeal porridge [8].
Flower Buds
The PAPAGO would collect cholla flower buds in May, pit roast them with mesquite embers and layers of hot stones/grass/stones/grass overnight, and dry them for future use. The buds would then be cooked with lambsquarter as a vegetable stew [10]. Dang, Papago! That sounds absolutely delicious! I’m doing it.
Immature Stems/Joints/Cladodes
The ACOMA and LAGUNA of New Mexico would split and dry the young cladodes to store for winter use. The mature ones were eaten in times of famine. [12]
Walkingstick Cholla (Opuntia imbricata) (1934) by Mary Vaux Walcott. Original from The Smithsonian. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.
Restaurants Known to use Cholla Buds
Desert Rain Café
http://desertraincafe.com/category/restaurants/
Tohono Plaza Main St | Sells, AZ 85634
The Turquoise Room at La Posada
http://www.theturquoiseroom.net
305 East Second Street | Winslow, AZ 86047
Kai (Sheriton Grand at Wild Horse Pass)
https://www.wildhorsepass.com/restaurants/kai/
I-10 and Wild Horse Pass Blvd | Chandler, AZ 85226
Cholla and Ritual Pain
There once was a fraternal subculture among the ZUNI who maintained a restricted access cholla garden for the expressed ceremonial purpose of ritual beatings. These special cholla would be decorated with Eagle down and sprinkled with meal before use [7]. One is left to assume this harrowing and bloody ordeal would separate the meek from those with fire coursing through their veins.
LOS PENITENTES— a flagellant fraternal order of devout Catholic males based in Southern Colorado and New Mexico— are known for their painful recreations of Christ’s Passions. According to the first-hand account of author, L. S. M Curtin, Los Penitentes would affix these viciously spiny cholla joints to their backs before crushing them down with the heavy crosses they carried[11].
The ACOMA and LAGUNA of New Mexico would chew the thorn coverings which contained plenty of glochidia to psyche themselves for war [12]. I would think twice about messing with a guy chewing on cholla thorn coverings, especially if there is blood pouring from his mouth, and he looks totally calm about it.
No trouble here, pal; PROceed!
Cholla Ethnobotany
The ACOMA and LAGUNA tribes of New Mexico used mature cholla cactus joints as a famine food, and the old and dried joints as torches or candles. The pith of these older and dried canes was put into the ear to combat earache or a condition called “runny ear.” They would use cholla thorns for sewing and tattooing. When the intensely red flowers of the cholla bloomed, this was known as a sign to plant your beans. [12] I may heed this sign this year.
Cholla in Literature
“At Lizard-in-the-Rocks, now spring had come , the food would be almost gone. Laughingly, the women would scrape the last of the dried beans from the storage pits and would go out to gather the hard green buds of cholla cactus and even thorny stalks.”
Cholla Videos
Some of these videos do not specifically deal with C. imbricata, but they are helpful tools to learn how to harvest and clean Cylindropuntia flower buds.
