This spinescent shrub is widespread throughout India and Pakistan where it often creates natural barriers or is planted as a hedge. It forms a shrub to 3 m with stout, cylindrical, terminal joints about 5 cm (1") diameter. These are armed with loose spirals of short, stout pairs of stipular spines that subtend prominent, circular, tan leaf scars in the midst of the dark thorn shields that age to tan. These contrast with the green epidermis, as do the often reddish cyathia that are produced in spring. Our plants were grown from seed in 2009, then further propagated vegetatively. We offer rooted cuttings of HBG 122956, from seed collected in Andra Pradesh, India. $10.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 97 (2), Summer 2025