Types of Cactus in the Desert Southwest
Including all native Cacti Species in the United States, from the Southwest, the Midwest, Puerto Rico and Florida.
Updated August 8, 2026
What represents the diversity of the American Southwest better than the cacti? Explore my illustrations and descriptions of every cactus species in the United States. While the vast majority of native cacti are found in the desert southwest, I include all 194 species native to the United States. My simple illustrations are designed to highlight the field identifications of each cactus, helping you learn and enjoy them in the wild. This is the world's only complete guide to every cactus in the desert southwest and the United States. Explore the American cactuses by genus:
Cereus
Cereus Cacti are the large, tree-like cactuses that we most identify with the southwest. While most species occur in Latin America, three in the American Southwest are iconic to the region.
Stenocereus thurberi
Organ Pipe Cactus
The Organ Pipe Cactus, which can grow as high as twenty-five feet, is named after its resemblance to pipe organs. It grows in primarily in Baja California and Sonora, where it is often the primary element in desert landscapes. It also grows in a corner of southwest Arizona, where it is protected at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Carnegiea gigantea
Saguaro
This gigantic cactus symbolizes the Sonoran Desert, the state of Arizona, northern Mexican cultures, and even the United States around the world. They are remarkable organisms, living for over one-hundred and fifty years and acting as hotels for myriad animals.
Bergerocactus emoryi
Golden-spined Cereus
This medium-sized cactus is native to the Southern California and Baja California coast. This cactus features a lemon yellow flower and a unique golden color from its large, yellow spines.
Pachycereus schottii
Senita
One of the most recognizeable cacti of the Sonoran desert in Mexico, this large species is known only in and near Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona. It's large pinkish flowers are pollinated only by a single creature; the Senita Moth. This is an example of mutualism in nature; both species' survival depends on the other.
Pilosocereus robinii
Key tree-cactus
The endangered, and federally protected Key-Tree Cactus of the Florida Keys, Bahamas and Cuba grows in the porous limestone habitats of this subtropical region. These cactus trees can grow thirty-three feet tall, and often have beautiful shapes.
Pilosocereus polygonus
Greater Antillean Tree Cactus
This tree cactus, which ranges from the Greater Antilles - Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico - as well as the Bahamas and Florida, can grow to 30 feet in length. Its blooms are white, green and brownish in color.
Pilosocereus royenii
Royen's Tree Cactus
This tree cactus is known from Puerto Rico, and throughout the Caribbean as well as southeastern Mexico. It features white-ish or cream-colored flowers and grows upwards of twenty-six feet.
Peniocereus striatus
Gearstem Cactus
This cactus of the Sonoran desert is known primarily from Desert Mexico, but appears in Arizona as well. It is hard to spot, as it often grows subtly between other desert species.
Peniocereus greggii
Night-blooming Cereus
This cactus from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas as well as northern Mexican states, is known for its short-lived flowers which bloom after sunset. These blooms have a vanilla-like smell, and an elegant white and green-yellow palette.
Stenocereus fimbriatus
Spanish Stenocereus
This cactus of the Puerto Rico and the Greater Antilles in general grows to thirty-feet. Its blooms are a lovely orange color.
Coryphantha
The Coryphantha cactuses are small to medium-sized 'beehive' cactuses, often recognizable as a pint-size potted plants. This genus of roundish, barrel-like cactuses with bright flowers is found mostly in the American Southwest and Desert Mexico.
Coryphantha alversonii
Foxtail Cactus
This black-tip spined cactus from Southern California's Mojave desert mountains is medium-sized, and known for its spectacular pink and yellow blooms.
Coryphantha echinus
Sea Urchin Cactus
The fragile yellow flowers on this small cactus from the far western deserts of Texas and the Chihuahan desert in Mexico last only a few hours each year. This species grows in desert scrub and degraded grasslands, and rarely grows in clumps.
Coryphantha macromeris
Nipple Beehive Cactus
This small cactus of the Chihuahan Desert is common in Texas and New Mexico, as well as much of the desert regions of Mexico. It grows in a wide variety of soils, and its purplish-magenta flowers bloom in late summer.
Coryphantha ramillosa
Whiskerbush
This rare and threatened species from the border between Texas and Mexico is small and spherical, growing in areas where few other plants grow. It features a stunning pinkish-magenta bloom and long spines.
Coryphantha robustispina
Pima Pineapple
Often called Pima Pineapple or Pineapple Cactus, this small specimen known from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico, grows in sandy and gravel soils.
Coryphantha nickelsiae
Nickels's Pincushion Cactus
This rare cactus of the eastern Chihuahuan desert, in both Texas and northern Mexico, features yellowish-white flowers. It flowers late in the summer and is often found in thorn scrub or limestone outcrops.
Coryphantha recurvata
Santa Cruz Beehive Cactus
This cactus, which grows in clusters of tightly packed individuals, has a very limited distribution along the Arizona-Mexico border.
Coryphantha sulcata
Pineapple Cactus
This cactus of Texas and, to a lesser degree, northern Mexico, features a bright Indian Yellow flower. Like many other rare cacti, Coryphanta sulcata may be a subspecies of another species. In this case, possibly Coryphantha nickelsiae.
Cylindropuntia
The Cylindropuntia are often known as the chollas, and they are many people's favorite cactus to despise, for their frightening ability to attach their spines to your body. They are, however, a source of great beauty in the American deserts, forming vast gardens.
Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa
Buckhorn Cholla
Buckhorn Cholla, a large tree-like cholla which grows upwards of 13 feet, is common in both the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. It is most often found on sandy, well-drained soils and gravelly slopes.
Cylindropuntia bigelovii
Teddy Bear Cholla
This fuzzy, soft looking cactus may look cute, but it is an evil menace! That fuzz means razor-thin spines that will detach from the plant in clusters. It is common to see these spine clusters detached and laying on the ground near these chollas. Teddy-bear Cholla are also a beautiful component of the deserts of Arizona, California, Nevada and northwestern Mexico and form thick desert forests.
Cylindropuntia californica
California Cholla
This large cholla, known to the coastal regions of far Southern California and Mexico's Baja peninsula, can grow to lengths of nine feet. It features small yellowish flowers. Because it is not as densely-packed with spines as the other chollas, its greenish skin is visible.
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa
Silver Cholla
This large and common cholla has a broad range in California and the Baja peninsula. It can grow to nearly seven feet in height; forming large, foreboding thickets. Its flowers are most often yellowish-green.
Cylindropuntia fosbergii
Hoffmann's Teddybear Cholla
This species is limited to the deserts of Southeastern California, mostly in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It is sometimes referred to as the Pink Teddy-bear Cholla, for its pink-tinged spines.
Cylindropuntia fulgida
Jumping Cholla
This treelike cactus, sometimes called the Hanging Chain Cholla, because of the way its branches hang, is a cactus of the Sonoran desert on both sides of the border. Like the Teddy-bear Cholla, Jumping Cholla stems detach easily, almost as if they 'jump' onto your when you brush past one.
Cylindropuntia ganderi
Gander's Buckhorn Cholla
This common cholla is widespread in the Sonoran desert, on both sides of the border. It features acid yellow flowers, and untidy plants that can grow as tall as 10 feet.
Cylindropuntia imbricata
cane Cholla
Cane Cholla, distributed across the southwest and desert mexico, is abundant, and more cold tolerant than other cactuses. It is seen in places like Oklahoma and in the colder parts of New Mexico. It can grow into 15 foot tall clumping trees, and features magenta flowers.
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
Pencil Cactus
Sometimes referred to as the Christmas Cactus, this unique cholla of the Southwestern United States and desert Mexico features narrow, pencil-like stems. In December, the pencil cactus grows red berries, which explains its alternate common name.
Cylindropuntia prolifera
Coastal Cholla
The Coastal Cholla is a grayish-greenish cactus of Baja California, Southern California and the Channel Islands. It is common on the hillsides, cliffs and bluffs of the Pacific Ocean, particularly on the Channel Islands, where it grows alongside the native chapparal and scrub.
Cylindropuntia ramosissima
Diamond Cholla
The Diamond Cholla, widely distributed in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of the United States and Mexico, is a tree-like cactus with small brown or light-orange flowers, and mostly spineless branches. Its golden spines are few and far between, but they are long and sharp. This cactus gets its name from the diamond-shaped patterns that adorn its stems.
Cylindropuntia rosea
Hudson Pear
A beautiful cactus, the Hudson Pear features white pines and brilliant pink-magenta flowers. In some parts of the world, including Australia, Hudson Pear has become an invasive.
Cylindropuntia spinosior
Spiny Cholla
Also known as the Walkingstick Cactus, this cholla features thin, snake-like stems and beautiful violet-magenta blooms. It is known mostly from the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. In the United States, it is seen only in Arizona and New Mexico.
Cylindropuntia tunicata
Sheathed Cholla
The Sheathed Cholla is one massive arms cache of a cactus. It is just packed with spines! This species lives primarily in the Chihuahan desert of Mexico, and can be seen in Texas' Chihuahan desert as well.
Cylindropuntia whipplei
Whipple Cholla
This grassland cholla of the Chihuahuan Desert dwells in higher elevation grasslands and deserts. Its spineless fruits were traditionally harvested for flour.
Cylindropuntia wolfii
Wolf's Cholla
The Wolf's Cholla is found almost entirely in the Colorado Desert portion of the Sonoran Desert, in places such as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It has long, woolly branches and orange or magenta colored flower.
Cylindropuntia abyssi
Peach Springs Canyon Cholla
This cactus is known only from Peach Springs Canyon in northern Arizona's Hualapi Reservation, and less so in nearby parts of the Grand Canyon. It features greenish-white flowers.
Cylindropuntia arbuscula
Arizona Pencil Cholla
This cholla shrub of Arizona and Sonora features thin, pencil-like stems and tiny red-orange flowers. This species is sometimes referred to as the Bush Cholla or Branched Pencil Cholla.
Cylindropuntia davisii
Thistle Cholla
This shrub-like cholla of the oak-juniper-mesquite woodlands of eastern New Mexico and west Texas. Like the Teddy-bear Cholla, the large spines of this species break off easily, causing untold anguish for animals and humans.
Cylindropuntia kleiniae
Klein's Pencil Cactus
This cactus of the Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico features magenta-colored flowers and grows in creosote and mesquite flatlands.
Cylindropuntia munzii
Munz's Cholla
This cholla, which resembles a tree in its growth and size, grows upwards of nine feet. It is known only from the far Southeastern edge of California, near the border with Mexico, and south in the eastern edges of Baja California Norte.
Cylindropuntia versicolor
Staghorn Cholla
This spectacular species of Arizona and northern Mexico features green and lavender flesh, and is named for its long-blooming and multicolored flowers, which can range between red, orange, yellow, violet and green.
Echinocereus
The Echinocereus genus is composed of ribbed cylindrical cactuses. Many are referred to as 'hedgehog cacti'; referring to the ancient Greek genus name, which means, Hedgehog Candle. Some of the most brilliant blooms in U.S. cactuses are produced in the Echinocereus genus.
Echinocereus arizonicus
Arizona Claret-cup cactus
This lovely cactus of Arizona and New Mexico is known for its immensely colorful blooms, which show shaded of orange, yellow and brilliant red. This species grows in mounds or clumps.
Echinocereus chisoensis
Chisos Mountain Hedgehog Cactus
This stunning species is known for its extremely limited range within desert shrublands of Big Bend National Park, on the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. It features bright magenta-pink blooms.
Echinocereus dasyacanthus
Texas Rainbow Cactus
This thickly-bristled cactus, appearing in arid rocky slopes and desert floors of several Southwestern states, has an unusual creamy-light green color produced by its carpet of spines. Its flowers are striking yellow or yellow-green. It's name is derived for multi-colored bands up its spine.
Echinocereus engelmannii
Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus
This commom cactus of the desert southwest and desert Mexico produces large clusters of stems, with large spines. It is known for its beautiful magenta flowers, which produce fruit which tastes like strawberry.
Echinocereus fasciculatus
Robust Hedgehog Cactus
This species, growing primarily in Arizona's Sonoran desert, is a clumping cactus which features brilliant magenta flowers, often blending toward white.
Echinocereus fendleri
Pinkflower Hedgehog Cactus
This species, found in dry soils of Arizona, New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado is also known as Fendler's Hedgehog Cactus, named after a naturalist of the 1800's. It's flowers vary from pink, to white to deep purple.
Echinocereus pentalophus
Lady Finger Cactus
This species is found in northeastern Mexico, and can also be found in the Rio Grande Valley of Southeastern Texas. Its magenta and yellow flowers are among the most attractive of the North American cacti.
Echinocereus poselgeri
Dahlia Hedgehog Cactus
This unusual species is known mostly for its distribution in the Mexican state of Coahuila, but is also found in Southern Texas. It's brilliant reddish-pink blooms open in the late afternoon, and close up at night.
Echinocereus reichenbachii
Lace Hedgehog Cactus
This cactus of the Chihuahuan desert features purplish-pinkish flowers. It can be found as far east as Colorado and Nebraska.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus
Mojave Mound Cactus
This stunning cactus, also known as the claretcup, is a close relative of the Arizona Claretcup Cactus, but is found in a more widespread range. It prefers shady areas on rocky slopes.
Echinocereus viridiflorus
Nylon Hedgehog Cactus
This small cactus exists in more eastern habitats in both the United States and Mexico. It is found in habitats like dry grasslands and prairies, in eastern Texas and even as far north as South Dakota.
Echinocereus boyce-thompsonii
Boyce Thompson Hedgehog Cactus
This hedgehog cactus, only recently recognized as a separate species from Echinocereus fasciculatus, features brilliant pinkish-magenta blooms and is known only in Arizona.
Echinocereus ledingii
Leding's Hedgehog Cactus
This high elevation Arizona cactus of sandy mountain slopes is often considered a subspecies of Echinocereus fendleri.
Echinocereus berlandieri
Berlandier's Hedgehog Cactus
This species is known only to the South Texas regions of the Nueces River and the Rio Grande river region. It's light purple flowers bloom in late spring.
Echinocereus coccineus
Scarlet Hedgehog Cactus
This clumping cactus, broadly distributed in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, features brilliant scarlet red blooms. This species is pollinated by both hummingbirds and bees.
Echinocereus enneacanthus
Strawberry Cactus
This clumping cactus, known from Texas, New Mexico and Northern Mexico features brilliant magenta blooms.
Echinocereus nicholii
Nichol's Hedgehog Cactus
This rare hedgehog cactus feature s long, sharp spines, tinged with yellow. It is present in the Sonoran desert regions of Arizona and northern Mexico. Its flowers are a brilliant and pure magenta.
Echinocereus papillosus
Yellow-flowered Alicoche
This cactus of southern Texas and northern Mexico features some of the most distinctive flowers of North America: large yellowish flowers with brilliant orange centers. This species grows in open mesquite prairies.
Echinocereus pectinatus
Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus
This species of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, as well as northern Mexico, grows on rocky slopes, scrub and limestone cracks.
Echinocereus pseudopectinatus
Devilthorn
This species, of southeastern Arizona and northern Mexico is a high-elevation species, growing in rocky slopes above 2,500 feet in elevation. It features pinkish spines and large magenta flowers.
Echinocereus rigidissimus
Arizona Rainbow Cactus
This small cactus, which is common in Mexico's Sonoran and Chihuahuan regions, is also known from lower elevations in Arizona and New Mexico. It's pink-magenta blooms with white-yellow interiors make its flowers among the most beautiful of all cacti flowers.
Echinocereus russanthus
Varied Hedgehog Cactus
This small cactus of northern Mexico and Texas features a thick mat of interlocking spines. Its blooms have a dark reddish-brown hue.
Echinocereus stramineus
Straw-color Hedgehog Cactus
This species, known from Texas and New Mexico, as well as the Chihuahuan desert of Mexico, is known for producing many stems, clumping together.
Ferocactus
The ferrocactus cacti are the barrel-shaped species of the American southwest and northwestern mexico. They are known for their shallow roots and ability to withstand extreme aridity and heat.
Ferocactus cylindraceus
Desert Barrel Cactus
This large barrel cactus of the Mojave desert often has a cylindrical, 'barrel' shape. It can reach lengths of nearly seven feet. It features yellow or maroon-colored flowers, and a yellow-colored fruit. It is one of the most recognizeable and attractive cactus species of Southern California.
Ferocactus emoryi
Traveler's Friend
This small, globe-shaped barrel cactus grows as a single unit. It is known mostly in the state of Sonora and on the baja peninsula, but is also found in Arizona.
Ferocactus hamatacanthus
Turk's Head
This common cactus of the Chihuahuan desert, is also present in New Mexico and Texas. It forms one single globe, which, at later stages becomes more of a columnar shape, and features an often yellow, but sometimes variable-colored flower.
Ferocactus viridescens
Keg Cactus
This rare barrel cactus, sometimes known as the San Diego Barrel Cactus or Coast Barrel Cactus exists mostly along the coast of Southern California and Baja California. It has a globe or cylindrical shape, and grows in cooler climates than other barrel cacti. It is threatened due to habitat loss, agriculture and coastal development.
Ferocactus wislizeni
Arizona Barrel Cactus
This species, often also referred to as the Fishhook Barrel Cactus, can grow up to ten feet tall. It is most often found in Arizona and northwestern Mexico, but it can also be found in New Mexico and Texas.
Mammillaria
This genera has extraordinary diversity, with over 200 species known to science throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In the American southwest, there are only five species. These species are united by their typical globe shapes and tubercles or 'nipples' throughout. They are often densely covered with flat spines.
Mammillaria dioica
Strawberry Pincushion
This species is unique to the western part of the Colorado desert, mostly in the western Southern Californian deserts and in Baja California. It features attractive orange-yellow-cream colored flowers.
Mammillaria grahamii
Graham's Nipple Cactus
A common fishhook cactus of the southwest, this species features bright pink flowers, which are often decoratively arranged around the crown of the cactus.
Mammillaria lasiacantha
Lacespine Nipple Cactus
This common cactus of Mexico can also be found in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It is among the many cacti that are often smuggled by collectors. It is threatened with extinction.
Mammillaria tetrancistra
Common Fishhook Cactus
The Common Fishhook Cactus is widespread throughout the southwest and northern Mexico. It features a small lavender-pink bloom.
Mammillaria thornberi
Thornber's nipple cactus
This cactus, which often forms multiple clumping stems, features tiny flowers. It grows in Southern Arizona and the Mexican Sonoran desert.
Mammillaria barbata
Greenflower Nipple Cactus
This small cactus, known mostly from the mountains of Northern Mexico, features small white or pink flowers. It has a small range in Arizona.
Mammillaria sphaerica
Longmamma Nipple Cactus
This small cactus of southeastern Texas and northern Mexico features beautiful yellow and orange blooms.
Mammillaria heyderi
Little Nipple Cactus
This small, globe-shaped cactus of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas barely breaks the surface of rocky soils. It features cream, yellowish or salmon-colored flowers.
Mammillaria mainiae
Counterclockwise Nipple Cactus
This Sonoran desert species is named for the orientation of its spines, which tend to all orient in one-direction. It is mainly known from Sonoran Arizona and northern Mexico, and features attractive pink and magenta midstripe blooms.
Mammillaria nivosa
Woolly Nipple Cactus
This small cactus of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, forms attractive clumping shapes. With its distinctive woolly look and brilliant yellow flowers, it is a truly beautiful and unique cactus. It is also threatened due to island development.
Mammillaria pottsi
Rat-tail Nipple Cactus
This species, widespread in Mexico, occurs only in Texas in the United States. It features a unique look with matted white spines, and small brownish-red flowers.
Mammillaria Prolifera
Texas Nipple Cactus
This small clumping cactus features hair-like spines, cream-colored flowers and brilliant red fruits.
Mammillaria wrightii
Wright's Nipple Cactus
This pint-sized mini-cactus of New Mexico and northern Mexico yields beautiful lavender-magenta blooms with striking yellow centers.
Opuntia
The Opuntia cacti are recognized for their beaver-tail like pads. They are often referred to as the Prickly pears. These are among the classic cactus shapes, and they have played a key role in the cuisine of many native North American groups, particularly in Mexico, where Prickly pears of many species are consumed as a vegetable.
Opuntia aciculata
old man's whiskers
This cactus, also called Cowboy's Red Whiskers or Chenille Pricklypear, is native to the Chihuahuan desert of Northern Mexico and Southern Texas. This species is sometimes used as a vegetable. Its fruits are edible and the pads can be cooked.
Opuntia ammophila
Devil's Tongue
This Florida Prickly pear cactus, which grows to six feet, forms a single trunk and features yellowish flowers.
Opuntia basilaris
Beavertail Pricklypear
The classic southwestern Prickly pear cactus, the Beavertail is common in the Mojave, Sonoran and Colorado deserts. This plant, which can forms hundreds of pads, was a key part of the diet of many pre-Columbian southwestern tribes.
Opuntia chlorotica
Pancake Pricklypear
A common prickly pear cactus, the Pancake Pricklypear can be found throughout most of the southwest and the deserts of northern Mexico.
Opuntia diploursina
Lake Mead Pricklypear
The Lake Mead pricklypear has a limited range. It exists only within the vicinity of Lake Mead. It features large, bright yellow flowers.
Opuntia engelmannii
Engelmann's Pricklypear
This is a common pricklypear of the eastern portions of the southwest, appearing often in Texas, Louisiana and even Missouri. But it is also common in the true southwest, and desert Mexico.
Opuntia erinacea
Mojave Pricklypear
Sometimes called the Grizzlybear Pricklypear, for its furry spines, this cactus forms low, but large clumps. It is often found in higher elevation deserts.
Opuntia fragilis
Brittle Pricklypear
This is a common cactus of the western portions of North America, and is common even in northern latitudes of British Columbia. Its a tiny clumping cactus. It features small yellowish flowers.
Opuntia gosseliniana
Violet Pricklypear
This beautiful cactus, with its often brilliant purple pads, is known only to Pima County in Arizona, as well as several states in northern Mexico. The species features bright lemon yellow flowers.
Opuntia humifusa
Eastern Pricklypear
This cactus, sometimes called the Indian Fig, occurs in the eastern states. A distribution map would show it completely absent west of the rockies, and distributed in every state around the Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard. This cold tolerant and sun-loving species' fruits are sometimes consumed.
Opuntia littoralis
Coastal Pricklypear
This pricklypear is known from the chapparal environments of the Southern California and Baja coast. It is known as a spreader, forming clumps. Its fruit is edible and known to have been consumed in prehistory.
Opuntia macrocentra
Long-spined Purplish Pricklypear
This pricklypear forms deep purple coloration on its pads, bright yellow flowers and edible fruit. It is found in northwestern Mexico, as well as diverse desert environments in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico.
Opuntia macrorhiza
Twistspine Pricklypear
The twistspine pricklypear, sometimes referred to as the Plains Pricklypear, is a common cactus of the midwest, known to thrive in my home state of Minnesota. It features bright yellow flowers, and edible fruits.
Opuntia oricola
Chapparal Pricklypear
A prickly pear of the chapparal regions of southern California and Baja, this species can grow to six feet in height, and features yellowish-orangish flowers.
Opuntia phaeacantha
Tulip Pricklypear
A common cactus of the desert southwest and great plains, this species is known to form dense thickets. It is sometimes referred to as the Plateau Pricklypear.
Opuntia polyacantha
Plains Pricklypear
This pricklypear, common in many regions of North America, from Chihuahua to western Canada, is sometimes known as the Starvation Pricklypear, for its ability to aid those in need of emergency hydration.
Opuntia atrispina
Black-spined Pricklypear
This species, limited in the United States to only a tiny strip of western Texas, is known for its dark-colored spines. It is known for producing many blooms, which are large with a soft yellow and sometimes pinkish interior.
Opuntia aurea
Golden Pricklypear
This cactus, of southern Utah and northern Arizona features large pink or yellow blooms. This species is known for producing few, if any, spines among many individuals.
Opuntia aureispina
Rio Grande Pricklypear
This pricklypear of limestone hills of the Rio Grande area grows to heights of five feet. Its yellow flowers have bright orange centers.
Opuntia dillenii
Erect Pricklypear
This cactus of the southern Atlantic coast and Caribbean produces yellow flowers and red and purple fruits. It is known as an invasive in other parts of the world, including Australia, where it is a common invasive.
Opuntia Austrina
Devil's Tongue
This small pricklypear from Florida features a sweet fruit which is often grilled or made into jams and syrups.
Opuntia cymochila
Grassland Pricklypear
This cold-hardy cactus is known from the plains and grasslands of the Great Plains and southwest. It features large yellow flowers, and can be found anywhere from Mexico to Minnesota.
Opuntia laevis
Smooth Pricklypear
This pricklypear from Mexico and southeastern Arizona has almost no spines, giving it an unusual bare look. Its flowers are often a striking golden yellow.
Opuntia martiniana
Seashore Cactus
This pricklypear is found in Arizona only in the Hualapai mountains. It features long spines and yellow flowers.
Opuntia pinkavae
Bulrush Canyon Pricklypear
This pricklypear is restricted to northern Arizona and southern Utah. While this species indeed has brilliant pinkish-magenta flowers, its scientific name is coincidental. It is named after Opuntia specialist Dr. Donald Pinkava.
Opuntia repens
Roving Pricklypear
This pricklypear of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has a propagation strategy similar to the Jumping Cholla. Its spines attach to mammal fur, pulling the segment and allowing it to take root elsewhere. It features warm yellow flowers.
Opuntia Rufida
Blind Cactus
This species of northern Mexico and southwestern Texas features reddish glochids rather than spines. It can form large bushes and features medium-sized yellow flowers.
Opuntia Santarita
Santa Rita Pricklypear
This species features brilliant bluish-purplish pads in winter. Its brilliant yellow flowers form a beautiful contrast to those unusual cactus hues. It is known from southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico.
Opuntia stricta
Pest Pricklypear
This large and widespread tropical cactus, native to the gulf states and Texas, and broadly distributed in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other Caribbean islands, is considered a pest elsewhere in the world, where it has been introduced. Its large flowers are yellow to yellow-orange.
Opuntia triacantha
Keys Joe Jumper
This tropical species, known from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as elsewhere in the Caribbean, has stems that uniquely lay flat, and creep along reef limestone. Its flowers are yellow.
Opuntia turbinata
Turban Pricklypear
This small-sized pricklypear, known from the sand-dune coastlines of Florida and Georgia. It features brilliant yellow flowers.
Pediocactus
This genus is often referred to as the pincushion cactuses, and like two other genera, the hedgehog cactuses. These cacti are generally small and unbranched.
Pediocactus bradyi
Marble Canyon Cactus
This cactus, sometimes called Brady's Pincushion Cactus, is one of the rarest species in the United States. It is an endangered species restricted to Marble Canyon, the attractive section of the Colorado River near the Grand Canyon. It is a tiny cactus, and is admired by collectors, who threaten its existence.
Pediocactus despainii
San Rafael Cactus
This small cactus, with lovely orange flowers, is extremely rare, and exists only in the San Rafael swell, a long geological depression in southeastern Utah. Only about 6,000 individual plants remain.
Pediocactus knowltonii
Knowlton's Miniature Cactus
This small cactus is known only to a single county in New Mexico - San Juan County in the northwestern corner of the state. It features yellow and lavenderish flowers. Only about 6,000 plants remain.
Pediocactus peeblesianus
Navajo Pincushion Cactus
This cactus, which grows only to about 6 centimeters in heights, is often hidden or even buried in the substrate. It features yellow flowers.
Pediocactus sileri
Gypsum Cactus
This species of the border between Utah and arizona, has a unique cylindrical-egg shape, and is known to prefer soils rich in gypsum. Mining, especially of uranium, is one of the key threats to this vulnerable species.
Pediocactus winkleri
Winkler's Cactus
This small cactus, known only in two counties of Utah, is a tiny globular cactus that is often hidden in rocky environments. It is listed as a threatened species, under threat mostly by cactus poachers.
Pediocactus paradinei
Kaibab Plains Cactus
This small globe-shaped cactus features long, soft spines that look like gray hair. This species exists only in a narrow range of the Kaibab Plateau in Utah and Arizona.
Pediocactus simpsonii
Simpson Hedgehog Cactus
This broadly distributed, high-elevation cactus is found above elevations of 4,500 feet and can be seen up to elevations of 11,500 feet. It is distributed uncommonly in the western states and intermountain west states. It is not found in California. It features bright pink-magenta flowers with a yellow center.
Sclerocactus
Sclerocactus cacti are commonly known as the fishhooks, and sometimes as the little barrel cactuses. They often feature a larger hooked spine in their spine areoles, and they range in cooler, higher and harsher climates than other genuses.
Sclerocactus brevihamatus
Shorthook Fishhook Cactus
This small globe of a cactus, endemic to Texas, is endangered. It features cream or green colored flowers.
Sclerocactus brevispinus
Pariette Cactus
This rare cactus is known only to the state of Utah, specifically, a single draw (a low ground between two ridges), in Duchesne County. It features violent-magenta flowers.
Sclerocactus glaucus
Colorado Hookless Cactus
This threatened cactus is known only from a narrow corridor in Southwestern Colorado. It features magenta flowers and multicolored spines.
Sclerocactus mesae-verdae
Mesa Verde Fishhook Cactus
This species from the borders of New Mexico and Colorado is extremely rare, and is an endangered species. It features yellow and white flowers, which sometimes show purple stripes.
Sclerocactus papyracanthus
Grama Grass Cactus
This Chihuahuan desert cactus, grows in grasslands in northern Mexico and Texas. It flourishes especially in the blue grama grasses of this region. It features white and green flowers.
Sclerocactus polyancistrus
Redspined Fishhook Cactus
This cactus of the Mojave desert grows in clusters, and produces highly variable reddish-violet flowers.
Sclerocactus sileri
Silver Fishhook Cactus
This tiny cactus, rare in northern Arizona and in miniscule populations in Utah and Nevada, features small white-yellow flowers.
Sclerocactus wetlandicus
Uinta Basin Hookless Cactus
This rare cactus, is known only to a portion of Duchesne County in Utah. It grows on rough, rocky and gravelly mesa slopes. Its flowers are magenta and yellow.
Sclerocactus wrightiae
Wright's Fishhook Cactus
This federally endangered cactus grows in sandy shrubland soils in a limited range in Utah, near Capitol Reef National Park and the San Rafael swell. It features small flowers, which may be white, yellowish or pink.
Sclerocactus parviflorus
Eagle Claw Cactus
This cactus is common in Utah, and the Colorado Plateau region in general, additionally ranging in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. It features bright pink flowers.
Sclerocactus pubispinus
Great Basin Eagle Claw Cactus
This species, known only from southwestern Utah, features brilliant magenta-pink flowers. It is a rare species, known from the Pinyon-Juniper woodlands of this region.
Sclerocactus scheeri
Desert Valley Fishhook Cactus
This cactus, of Mexico and Texas, grows in thick thorn scrub and grasslands. It features unusual yellow-green flowers.
Sclerocactus spinosior
Spinier's Devils-claw Cactus
This species, known only from southwestern Utah and Nevada, is a high elevation species known from pinyon-juniper woodlands and high-elevation sagebrush plains. It features a bright magenta bloom and a warm yellow center.
Sclerocactus uncinatus
Brown-flowered Hedgehog
This species, known from northern Mexico and southern Texas, features a reddish-brown flower and long fishhook spines.
Sclerocactus whipplei
Rose Devil's Claw Cactus
This cactus of the Four Corners region, known from northern Arizona, southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah (as well as Mexico), features yellowish flowers and strong, sharp spines that often have a dark color.
Other Cactus Genuses
One of my motivations for creating this list of all the types of cacti in the United States is the many inaccurate online depictions of what cactuses are and are not. Cactus is a biological term, referring to related species. North America has a lot of other plants that look like cactuses - yuccas, joshua trees and ocotillo are some of the most commonly misinterpreted as cacti. The following species are the remaining cacti species that do not fall in the main genuses represented above.
Acanthocereus tetragonus
Fairy Castle Cactus
This unusual cactus, native to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, Florida, and broadly distributed in Latin America, is tall and grows in large thickets. Its flowers bloom only at night.
Ariocarpus fissuratus
Dry Whiskey Cactus
This cactus is one of our most unusual, and is sometimes called the Living Rock Cactus. It is often brownish gray, or dull green in color, and can resemble a small rock. It is threatened by cactus poachers.
Astrophytum asterias
Star Peyote
This unusually shaped cactus, known for its pincushion appearance and yellow and orange flowers, is found only in Texas, north of the border. It grows mostly in thorn scrub habitat. It is endangered, and threatened by poachers.
Echinomastus erectocentrus
Redspine Butterfly Cactus
This cactus of the Mexican, Arizonan and New Mexican Sonoran desert is known to grow on limestone. It features purple and pink blooms.
Escobaria minima
Birdfoot Cactus
This tiny cactus was so sought after by collectors, that is now an endangered species in the wild. It's hative habitat is restricted to a single county in Texas. Today, only three native populations remain. It is an attractive pygmy cactus with pink and yellow flowers.
Escobaria missouriensis
Missouri foxtail cactus
One of the few Midwestern cacti, the Missouri Foxtail Cactus grows in prairie grass of the Great Plains. It is widespread across the Midwest, and also occurs in the Desert Southwest. The flowers are large and unique, with a pale green coloration.
Escobaria vivipara
Spinystar
This small, oblong or globe-shaped cactus is widely distributed across North America. It is found as far north as Alaska, and is known from my native state of Minnesota. It features brilliant magenta flowers.
Grusonia parishii
Matted Cholla
This cactus of the Mojave and Sonora deserts grows in spreading mats, low to the ground. It features yellowish flowers, tipped in reddish-pink, and long, sometimes red spines.
Grusonia pulchella
Sagebrush Cholla
This cactus of the Mojave Desert grows in salt flats, sand dunes and alkali basins. It has stunning pink and yellow flowers, large relative to the smallish size of this cactus.
Harrisia aboriginum
Prickly Applecactus
The thin, long Prickly Applecactus originates from the gulf coast of Florida and features a stunning white flower.
Harrisia fragrans
Caribbean applecactus
This federally endangered cactus, like many other wild things in Florida, suffered from overdevelopment in the one county where it originates. Like many Florida cacti, this one prefers sandy scrub and coastal hammocks.
Harrisia simpsonii
Simpson's applecactus
This is small, erect cactus sometimes called the Queen of the Night. It is native to the state of Florida.
Harrisia portoricensis
Puerto Rico Applecactus
This large columnar cactus from Puerto Rico grows only on Mona Island, Monito Island and Desecheo Island. Its white blooms appear at night.
Harrisia eriophora
Fragrant Applecactus
This endangered applecactus is known only from Florida. Its nocturnal blooms are whitish with a hint of green and yellow.
Leptocereus grantianus
Cubera Island Cactus
This rare and unusual cactus limited to the island of Cubera in Puerto Rico sprawls and clumps. It features small white-green flowers. It is endangered.
Echinocactus horizonthalonius
Devilshead
A small barrel cactus from the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, the Devilshead grows mostly in limstone soils. This rare species has several colorful nicknames. One nickname, "The Horse Crippler Cactus," comes from the danger this small cactus, often hidden in the brush, could inflict on a horse.
Echinocactus polycephalus
Cotton Top Cactus
This rugged species features wooly fruits, which give it its common names. These cacti live in rugged terrain, in places where other cactus species are unusual.
Echinocactus texensis
Horse Crippler
This squat cactus of southwest New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico is known from grass and scrub habitats, as well as desert flats. It is so-named the way that it is difficult to see, often hidden by grasses and scrubs, or even submerged partially in soil. Stepping on this flat cactus can surprise or even trip an unsuspecting large mammal.
Echinocactus Bonkerae
Bonker Hedgehog Cactus
This extremely rare cactus, known from the middle of Arizona, produces clusters of long stems, and features brilliant purple flowers.
Selenicereus spinulosus
Vine-like Moonlight Cactus
This is an elongated cactus that is native to Mexico, but may have native populations in southern Texas. It features elegant and unusual night-blooming flowers.
Consolea corallicola
Florida Semaphore Cactus
This large cactus of the Florida Keys grows to about 9 feet. It is a beautiful cactus, with stunning reddish-orange flowers and brilliant green flesh. It is among the most endangered of any species in the United States. It is believed that less than 20 wild Florida Semaphores remain, and threatened by rising hurricane threats and insects. It is designated as critically imperiled, meaning it is in imminent threat of extinction.
Consolea moniliformis
Necklacelike Pricklypear
This cactus of the Greater Antilles occurs in open dry forests in Puerto Rico. It grows extremely high for any cactus, and can reach over twenty feet in height. Its flowers are brilliant warm-hued yellow.
Consolea rubescens
Road Kill Cactus
This large tree cactus of Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean grows to twenty-feet in height. It features reddish-orange blooms.
Echinomastus gautii
Top Cactus
This small, solitary cactus known only from Texas is named for its similarity to a spinning top. It features brilliant magenta blooms.
Echinomastus intertextus
White Fishhook Cactus
This crazy little pint-size cactus is known from the high elevation regions of western Texas and southeastern Arizona. Its flower comes in pastel pink and yellow hues.
Echinomastus warnockii
Warnock's Fishhook Cactus
This small blue-green cactus, common in northern Mexico and western Texas, features buttercup yellow flowers.
Echinomastus johnsonii
Johnson's Fishhook Cactus
This small cactus features a dense thicket of reddish spines, which spiral upward around the plant. It is a rare cactus known mostly from California's Mojave desert regions.
Echinomastus mariposensis
Mariposa Cactus
This golf-ball sized cactus is known only from Northern Mexico and the Big Bend region of Texas. It has a white-gray appearance, and its small blooms feature white and magenta, with a yellow center.
Epithelantha bokei
Pingpong Ball Cactus
This tiny cactus, rarely more than two inches across, sits mostly underground on limestone hills and ledges in West Texas and the neighboring Mexican states of Coahuila and Chihuahua. Dozens of short, pale spines lie flat against the stem, giving it the smooth, white look of a ping pong ball. Its delicate pale pink to silvery-white flowers open only briefly on warm days in late spring, followed by small red fruits. The species name honors the cactus anatomist Norman H. Boke.
Epithelantha micromeris
Button Cactus
This very tiny cactus from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico if often found growing in the cracks between rocks. The cactus, often gray in appearance, camoflages as a rock, which gives it its other name, "Living Rock." It features pinkish blooms.
Escobaria albicolumnaria
Silver Lace Cob Cactus
The dense spines on this Texas species give it a white lace appearance, thus its common name. It's small blooms are an attractive pinkish-magenta.
Escobaria alversonii
Cushion Foxtail Cactus
This rare cactus of the Mojave and Sonoran desert is known only from California, Arizona and Mexico. In the American southwest, it is most often found in Joshua Tree National PArk. It features pink-magenta blooms.
Escobaria dasyacantha
Dense Cory Cactus
This cactus of Texas, New Mexico and northern Mexico grows in a wide variety of habitats, including grassland and creosote habitats. Its flowers are variable, but often show warm pink hues.
Escobaria desertii
Desert Beehive Cactus
A cactus of Pinyon-Juniper and Joshua Tree forests, this high elevation cactus features variable flowers, sometimes orange-ish, and sometimes brownish. Many botanists consider this a morph of Escobaria Vivipara, but others argue this is its own species.
Escobaria duncanii
Duncan Pincushion Cactus
The Duncan Pincushion Cactus is a tiny cactus, present in New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico. It's U.S. populations are very small. Its flowers are a striking pink and magenta.
Escobaria emskoetteriana
Big Nipple Cactus
This small cactus of Mexico and the plains of the Rio Grande in Texas is known to thrive in thornscrub habitat. Its flowers are yellowish-green with notes of magenta and pink.
Escobaria guadalupensis
Guadalupe Pincushion Cactus
This tiny cactus of limited range in New Mexico and Texas grows in limestone cracks and rocky soil. There is disagreement over whether this is a species or subspecies.
Escobaria hesteri
Hester's Pincushion Cactus
This dwarf cactus, known only from Texas, grows to 2 inches tall and features magenta-purple flowers.
Escobaria orcuttii
Orcutt's Foxtail Cactus
This species, from southern New Mexico and northern Mexico, features a well-groomed mat of dense spine clusters, giving it a white, snowy appearance. It grows in rocky soil and limestone cracks.
Escobaria organensis
Organ Mountain Foxtail Cactus
This small, high-elevation species grows only in the state of New Mexico, and is mostly restricted to an area of the Organ Mountains. It grows on high ridgelines and features pinkish blooms.
Escobaria robbinsorum
Cochise Pincushion Cactus
This tiny pincushion is found only on a handful of limestone hills in southeastern Cochise County, Arizona, where Chihuahuan desertscrub meets semi-desert grassland. Usually just a sliver of it pokes above the ground, and in drought it shrinks until it nearly disappears. In March it produces pale yellow flowers with a greenish or bronze cast, followed by small orange-red fruits in summer. It has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1986.
Escobaria sandbergii
San Andreas Pincushion Cactus
This pint-size, high-elevation cactus is native to only a handful of mountain ranges in New Mexico. It features pink-colored flowers. It grows in areas largely inaccessible to hikers, and thankfully, cactus collectors.
Escobaria Sneedi
Carpet Foxtail Cactus
This cactus is native, but rare throughout the Chihuahan desert in Texas, New Mexico and northern Mexico. It grows to about ten inches tall and features tiny flowers, which are often pink, white or greenish-white.
Escobaria tuberculosa
Cob Beehive Cactus
This small cactus of Texas and New Mexico features pale pink flowers. It grows in an elongated structure; as it ages it begins to resemble the structure of a corn cob, and thus its name.
Escobaria villardii
Villard Pincushion Cactus
This tiny cactus is limited to a small range in southern New Mexico. It is known to spread liberally in its small range, where it is common. It features pale yellowish to pinkish flowers.
Grusonia grahamii
Graham Dog Cactus
This species produces large mats of low-lying cactus. It is known from New Mexico and Texas and produces warm yellow flowers.
Grusonia Emoryi
Cursed Cholla
This small cactus, broadly distributed in Mexico and the American southwest, branches out profusely, creating mats of sharp spines - thus the species' name. It features small yellow blooms.
Hylocereus trigonus
Calyx Flower
This epiphytic vining cactus of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, produces large white flowers.
Rhipsalis baccifera
Mistletoe Cactus
This epiphytic cactus of Central Americ and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, can grow to lengths of thirty feet, descending off branches. It is believed that this is the only species that may have occurred naturally in other parts of the world, as it is known from Africa and Sri Lanka.
Grusonia aggeria
Big Bend Pricklypear
This clumping pricklypear, known only from the Big Bend region of Texas, features acid yellow flowers.
Grusonia clavata
Club Cholla
This sharp-spined spreading cactus, known only to New Mexico, features brilliant yellow flowers.
Grusonia kunzei
Kunze's Club Cactus
This clumping cactus, known from extremely hot regions of the Sonoran desert in both Mexico and Arizona, grows both outward and upward, forming dense, impenetrable thickets. It features cool-toned yellow flowers.
Grusonia Schottii
Dog Cholla
The Dog Cholla, known from the Chihuahuan desert of Texas, forms mats of grayish-green clumps. It's spines are strong and intensely sharp. The Dog Cholla's flowers are acid yellow.
Leptocereus quadricostatus
Bello's Leptocereus
Bello's Leptocereus is a threatened cactus from Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands.
Lophophora williamsii
Peyote
This small, spineless cactus from northern Mexico and southwestern Texas is known for its psychoactive properties, and its usage by indigenous populations for millenia. Its flower is white with warm-colored stripes and a yellow center.
Neolloydia conoidea
Chihuahuan Beehive Cactus
This small cactus of the Rio Grande area of Texas is shaped like a cone, or beehive. It features magenta blooms with yellow centers.
Thelocactus bicolor
Glory of Texas Cactus
This cactus, common to the Chihuahuan desert in Mexico and Texas, features a brilliant and large flower featuring reds, purples and whites.
Thelocactus setispinus
Miniature Barrel Cactus
This small barrel cactus of Mexico and Southern Texas features a lemon yellow flower with a brilliant orange center.