Cholla cactus plants [Cylindropuntia spp] mainly get water from the soil. Their shallow, fibrous roots spread out to find and take in any available moisture in the soil. That moisture may be in the soil because of dew that drips from the plant, onto the ground, and into the soil. Or it may be in the soil because of a rain or snow fall event.
The cactus wren nests in cholla crevasses as well as suguaros and a couple of other desert plants
reed junco
Plants on and around the Biosphere 2 campus include the pincushion cactus, chainfruit cholla, velvet mesquite, blue palo verde, prickly pear, mistletoe, saguaro, barrel cactus, and the ocotillo.
About the only animal that will attack a cholla cactus are scale insects that suck the fluids from the plant and can eventually kill it.
alot
Javalina, deer, rabbits, and even humans eat cactus. Various birds eat the fruit of the Saguaro and Prickly pear. Insects, birds, and bats pollinate the cactus.
Cactus wrens usually nest in the cholla cactus. This very spiny cactus provides protection for their eggs and young from predators such as snakes.
Some popular cactus names in Arizona include the Saguaro, Barrel cactus, Prickly pear, and Cholla.
CACTUSDomain: EukaryaKingdom: PlantaeSubkingdom: ViridaeplantaeInfrakingdom: StreptophytaDivision: TracheophytaSubdivision: SpermatophytinaInfradivision: AngiospermaeClass: MagnoliopsidaeSuperorder: CaryophyllanaeOrder: CaryophyllalesFamily: Cactaceae*Please note that there are many Gena in the cactus family.
Cactus wrens and Cholla cactus are symbiotic. The cactus wren builds its nest in the spines of the cactus, providing a safe place for the bird to raise it's young.
No, it is illegal to remove any cactus, living or dead, from deserts in Arizona.
A cactus competes with other plants for water.