Scientific: Austrocylindropuntia subulata (Synonyms: Cylindropuntia subulata, Opuntia ellemetiana, Opuntia segethii, Opuntia subulata, Pereskia affinis, Pereskiopsis subulata)
Common: Eve's Needle
Family: Cactaceae
Origin: Peruvian Andes
Invasive alert: Naturalized in Argentina and Bolivia, introduced in the Mediterranean basin and has become invasive in coastal provinces and interior of the Iberian peninsula, invasive in Australia.
Pronounciation: Aus-tro-cy-lin-dro-pun-TEE-a sub-u-LAY-ta
Hardiness zones
Sunset 13-24
USDA 9-11
Landscape Use: Strong accent, large containers, barrier, large desert gardens and xeric landscape design themes.
Form & Character: Upright, stout, rigid, erect, imposing, brittle, spikey, green.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, succulent and fibrous perennial, heavily branched, slow rowth rate to 10-feet tall with lesser spread.
Foliage/Texture: Medium green, glabrous, succulent, segmented stems marked with rhomboid to ovate bumps with aeroles in spiral rows, aeroles grow 1 to 8 erect, grayish-white spines to 3-inches long and awl-like rudimentary, cylindrical (conehead-like) leaves to 5-inches long mostly towards the stem terminus; coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Terminal flowers, orange, pink, burgundy red, yellow or white in color to 2-inches long including an elongated, warty hypanthium covered by rudimentary leaves; fruits ovoid or club-like, sometimes thorny to 4-inches long.
Seasonal Color: None, rarely flowers in Phoenix during spring.
Temperature: No temperature issues in Phoenix, except mild to moderate summer heat stress if positioned in a highly reflective western exposure.
Light: Full sun with some partial western shade.
Soil: Well-drained soils are absolutely required.
Watering: In Phoenix, supplemental water during summer is needed, but keep dry suring winter.
Pruning: None
Propagation: Asexual propagation of stem segments.
Disease and Pests: Root rot if soil is wet.
Additional comments: Though popular worldwide, Eve's Needle is more of a lesser-seen, curiosity accent plant in Phoenix. The forma Monstrosa is densely branched often with reddish-colored leaves. The cultivar 'Cristata' is a dwarf, non-flowering selection with oddly flattened and subtle revolute stems growing to only 2-feet tall.
A public service announcement: Children beware!! The aerole spines make Eve's Needle a dangerous succulent plant, especially if positioned in close approximation to human traffic.
Taxonomic tidbit: The specific epithet subulata means "awl-like" referring to the shape of the rudimentary leaves.
