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Our neighbor is moving to Arizona soon. He told my son that while he was there for the interview, he took a side trip to the desert. There he encountered a cactus that launched its spines (as a defensive mechanism, I suppose) when it senses vibrations in the ground. He likes to pull my son's leg, and not having ever been to Arizona, I am not sure whether to believe this. Anyone know if this is true or am I as gullible as my son?
False story, old wives tale, oldtimers lore to newbies.
If 'you' brush up against certain cacti, then some thorns, or pads, may attach to you. But jump out and attack you, LOL.
I am a plethora of weird trivia and interesting, but useless, information and I didn't think I'd ever run across this before. Still, my kids are trying to convince me that I am entering my second childhood, so who knows......? Thanks for setting us straight.
Our neighbor is moving to Arizona soon. He told my son that while he was there for the interview, he took a side trip to the desert. There he encountered a cactus that launched its spines (as a defensive mechanism, I suppose) when it senses vibrations in the ground. He likes to pull my son's leg, and not having ever been to Arizona, I am not sure whether to believe this. Anyone know if this is true or am I as gullible as my son?
Its NOT true. No cacti launch their spines. The jumping cholla (pronounced choy-ya) cacti have spines that are easily dislodged, they dont shoot out. If you brush up against one lightly, youll be pickin those doggone things out of your skin and clothes for awhile. Theyre tremendously painful and burn like the devil if you get one deep in your skin, and have fun getting them off your clothes. I accidentally set my backpack down on some jumping cholla spines on my last trip to AZ, and spent 15 minutes removing them as the spines were lodged deep in the canvas. I had to use metal forceps to pull them out and it wasnt easy. Steer clear of those danged things, theyre a menacing nightmare.
I am getting quite an education here! Maybe I should re-name this thread "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Jumping Cholla*" Thanks for all the information.
'Jumpin' Cholla is a misnomer. It doesn't jump as Steve mentioned. They come off easily when brushed against or strong winds blow them off. They reproduce when the strong winds, such as a dust devil, or an animal brushes up against them and scatters them across the desert.
They have two primary barbs, one with teeny hairy spines that sticks straight in, and the other one is barbed and hooks onto your clothes or skin. They are difficult to remove because of the barbed thorn that tears your skin when it is removed.
I can testify to the painful removal of the thorns as I had ove a 100 of them removed with a pair of pliers. And it took about 90 days for the ones that couldn't be removed to fester up and pop out. Then it was tweezers to finish removing them.
I got caught one afternoon taking close=up photos of the cacti when a fast moving dust devil(whirlwind) came up and blew them onto my legs. I stopped a DPS officer because of the pain and looking for an emergency hospital. He laughed and said "welcome to the desert". "Get some pliers, you'll live". That was over 45 years ago. An adventure I'll never forget, and respect for the cacti.
Memo to self: Reasons for not moving to Arizona
1. Being burned to crisp by sun
2. Being bitten by poisonous snakes
3. Being stung by venomous insects
4. Being flailed by cacti
they are a secret desert weapon...designed to attack unsuspecting tourists who then scream drop their wallets and run....thus leaving us desert dwellers wealthy and alone in our beautiful desert
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The jumping cholla (pronounced choy-ya) cacti have spines that are easily dislodged, they dont shoot out. If you brush up against one lightly, youll be pickin those doggone things out of your skin and clothes for awhile. Theyre tremendously painful and burn like the devil if you get one deep in your skin, and have fun getting them off your clothes. 
I accidentally set my backpack down on some jumping cholla spines on my last trip to AZ, and spent 15 minutes removing them as the spines were lodged deep in the canvas. 
I had to use metal forceps to pull them out and it wasnt easy. Steer clear of those danged things, theyre a menacing nightmare.
