About Cylindropuntia bernardina (Engelm. ex Parish) M.A.Baker, Cloud-H. & Rebman
Cylindropuntia bernardina is an erect cactus that grows up to 3 meters tall. Its firmly attached terminal stem segments are typically 16 to 40 cm long and 1.7 to 4 cm in diameter, with tubercles measuring 16 to 35 mm across and less than 7 mm high. Spines are generally less than 3.5 cm long, ranging in color from yellow to orange-brown, and covered in a translucent sheath that varies from white to gold-brown. The flowers are yellow, often with red tints on their tips. Flower filaments are green or yellow, while the stigma is cream to yellow. Fruits range from green to yellow, have a leathery to dry texture, and bear few to no spines. This species is distributed across southern California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Its range extends from the Cuyama River, south through the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges, reaching its southern limit in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir. It typically grows in chaparral, plains, hills, oak scrub, and pinyon-juniper woodlands in these mountain ranges and the valleys between them.
