Cholla Cacti begin flowering here in the Mojave Desert in early spring. This particular group survived a fire just a few years prior, leaving many with charred and scarred trunks, above which, new green re-growth can be seen. While these cacti don't grow as tall a some of their cousins, their spines are among the hardest and sharpest of all.

Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, California, USA.