Can jumping cacti throw their stems at passersby?
No, but many people swear that “jumping” cacti, like the Teddy-bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii), Chain-fruit cholla (Cylindropuntia fulgida), and the Clavelina (Cylindropuntia molesta) can throw their spiny stems at them as they walk by. The truth is that many of these cacti are well adapted for vegetative dispersal and the terminal stem pieces will dislodge from the parent plant at the slightest touch and will become painfully attached to any animal or person walking by, subsequently using the animal as a mode of transportation to a new locality. Frequently, hikers unknowingly pick up cactus stems from the ground on the side of their boots, and with the next step the cactus is thrown onto the back of their leg and penetrates the skin, seeming to from nowhere. WARNING to the inexperienced desert hiker: be careful while walking through a desert landscape with cactus nearby, or you may be the next target for a cholla’s dispersal. Rattlesnakes are not the only pain-causing entities
