What does cholla mean?
A cholla is any of several spiny cacti of the genus Cylindropuntia, native to the deserts of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Unlike flat-padded prickly pears, chollas have cylindrical stems divided into distinct segments, densely armed with barbed spines that detach at the slightest touch — a trait behind the popular name 'jumping cholla,' since segments appear to leap onto passing animals or hikers. The word entered English from Mexican Spanish and remains strongly regional in flavor, evoking Sonoran and Mojave landscapes. Chollas are ecologically important, providing nesting sites for desert birds such as cactus wrens, and their dried skeletons, known as cholla wood, are prized by aquarists and crafters. In usage, cholla appears most often in nature writing, travel prose, and botanical contexts, where it lends vivid, place-specific color to descriptions of arid terrain.
nounAny of several spiny, cylindroid-stemmed cacti of the genus Cylindropuntia, native to the deserts of the southwestern United States and Mexico, bearing segmented joints and barbed bristles.
- A spiny cactus of the genus Cylindropuntia, native to the southwestern US and Mexico, with cylindrical jointed stems covered in barbed spines.
- (Less common) The dried, porous skeleton or wood of such a cactus, used decoratively and as an aquarium ornament.
"The desert floor was a dense thicket of cholla, its silvery spines glowing in the afternoon light."
"Hikers gave the cholla a wide berth, knowing how easily its spines detach and embed in skin."
"She arranged driftwood and cholla wood among the stones of the terrarium."
Standard plural is chollas; some writers keep the word unchanged in botanical lists.
"The hillside was carpeted with chollas after the spring rains."
The 'jumping cholla' earned its nickname because its barbed segments seem to leap onto anything that brushes past them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cholla
Cholla was borrowed into English from Mexican Spanish, where it referred both to this cactus and colloquially to the head. Its ultimate origin is uncertain; it has been suggested to derive from an Indigenous source, but no derivation is firmly established, so it should be treated simply as a Spanish loanword adopted into English during the period of American settlement in the Southwest.
How cholla is actually used
Regional chiefly to the American Southwest and northern Mexico; used figuratively only rarely. Plural may be chollas or, occasionally, cholla.
Easily confused with cholla
Prickly pears are flat-padded Opuntia cacti, whereas chollas are their close relatives with cylindrical, jointed stems.
Despite a superficial resemblance at the start of the word, cholesterol is a fatty substance in the body and has nothing to do with the cholla cactus.