Cholla gum

Teddy bear cholla and prickly pear cactus

Description

A sticky exudation obtained from any of several Opuntia family cactus many of which are native to Mexico and the southwestern United States. Examples include:

- prickly pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii)

- Jumping cholla (Opuntia fulgida)

Synonyms and Related Terms

prickly pear cactus gum; prickly pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii); Jumping cholla (Opuntia fulgida); goma de cholla (Esp.)

Additional Images

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  Pricly pear cactus Opuntia engelmannii

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  Chain cholla Opuntia fulgida)

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  Prickly pear cactus

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• John S. Mills, Raymond White, The Organic Chemistry of Museum Objects, Butterworth Heineman, London, 2nd ed., 1994

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Website address 1 Comment: Virginia Tech Dendrology website at www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/main.htm (accessed Oct. 3, 2005)

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prickly_pear (Accessed Oct. 3, 2005)