August 31, 2025

This plant is known as Chain-fruit Cholla

It is another species of Cylindropuntia Cacti

Despite it's large spines

Rodents will dine

On its fruit and seeds at snack time.

Location: Saguaro National Park, AZ

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CYFUF

Photo and text © 2025 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

August 30, 2025

This plant is Cylindropuntia thurberi

Its common name is Thurber's Cholla

It barbed spines stick to skin, fur and clothes

Don't touch it, or else it will sure show ya.

Location: Saguaro National Park, AZ

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylindropuntia

Photo and text © 2025 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

August 28, 2025

These plants are known as Saguaro  cacti

They can each weight as much as 9 tons

Woodpeckers and flickers drill holes in them

And their seeds are eaten by White-wing doves.

(As shown below, with me for scale, they are WAY bigger than I was expecting. I couldn't get the whole thing in the iPhone camera.)

Location: Saguaro National Park, AZ

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=cagi10

Photo and text © 2025 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.