elkhorn cactus n [From the configuration of its branches] Cf buckhorn cholla n, deerhorn cactus n 1, staghorn cholla n
A cholla n (here: Cylindropuntia spp).
1861 WI Patriot (Madison) 12 Oct 3/2 CO, We have to-day seen a new variety of the vegetable creation. The Elkhorn cactus, with its bright yellow seed, stands as high as a man’s chin. 1870 Penn Mth. 1.345 NM, A trail conducts you through this growth of sage brush, pinon and elk-horn cactus. 1911 World Today 20.699 CO, A tumbled waste of bare mountains, here red, there white with alkali, dusty elkhorn cacti and glistening flakes of mica shut you in for the first few miles. 1940 Fergusson Our Southwest 95, The fuzzy nap on the elkhorn cactus turns out to be vicious spines. 2005 Los Angeles Times (CA) 8 Mar (Internet) AZ, The terrain is strewn with boulders and desert plants—towering saguaro and sprouts of seaweed-like ocotillos; shoulder-high staghorn and elkhorn cactus.