Prickly Pairs are fun little works of art based on the cacti and animals found in the Sonoran Desert. I have plans to expand the current collection and have a series based on cacti from around the world!
Click On a Cactus Below to Learn more about it.
Prickly Pairs Facts
Arizona Rainbow
It may not have all the colors of the rainbow, but it comes pretty close! Between its spines and its flower petals, the Arizona Rainbow Cactus can sport red, magenta, white, yellow, and pink.
While this specimen may only grow up to two feet tall, it’s a sight to see when the flowers bloom. The petals grow out so much they cover their stems entirely from view!
Cactus Wren
The cactus wren is the state bird of Arizona! A perfect prickly pair for the Arizona Rainbow cactus. Although it’s native to Arizona it can be found in southern California, southern Nevada, western Texas, southwest Utah, and north-central Mexico.
They build their nests in many species of cactus such as cholla, palo verde, acacias, and saguaros. However, sometimes you can even find them nesting in someone’s backyard!
Arizona Barrel
Don’t try to hide anything in this barrel! Chances are you’ll end up with barbed thorns in your arm. Also known as the Fishhook Barrel, the Arizona Barrel Cactus is known for its hooked spines and barrel shape. They are also called Compass Barrels because they often lean southwest.
The Arizona Barrel is also known for the fruit that grows on its topside. They look like tiny pineapples and are edible.
The cactus wren is the state bird of Arizona! A perfect prickly pair for the Arizona Rainbow cactus. Although it’s native to Arizona it can be found in southern California, southern Nevada, western Texas, southwest Utah, and north-central Mexico.
They build their nests in many species of cactus such as cholla, palo verde, acacias, and saguaros. However, sometimes you can even find them nesting in someone’s backyard!
Rufous Hummingbird
Texas Rainbow
With its yellow flowers that sometimes tint orange and red, the Texas Rainbow Cactus (Arizona Rainbow’s cousin) brightens the desert landscape. And like its cousin, these flowers tower over the stems they grow on, shielding the cactus beneath its petals.
Its flowers may be bright, but the Texas Rainbow gets its name from the coloration of its spines, which vary and often cover the entire stem of the cactus. When it comes to rainbow cacti, not everything is bigger in Texas as this species only grows to about one foot tall.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
The cactus wren is the state bird of Arizona! A perfect prickly pair for the Arizona Rainbow cactus. Although it’s native to Arizona it can be found in southern California, southern Nevada, western Texas, southwest Utah, and north-central Mexico.
They build their nests in many species of cactus such as cholla, palo verde, acacias, and saguaros. However, sometimes you can even find them nesting in someone’s backyard!
California Barrel
The California Barrel cactus might not make a useful barrel, but their bright red spines and yellow flowers are useful for admiring! When they’re young, the California Barrels’ spines are straight and red, and as they age they curve and turn gray.
The California Barrel flowers really enjoy soaking up the sun, so much that they face the direction that provides the most sunshine. It’s a good thing they don’t get sunburnt. Like other barrels, it produces edible fruit. Also like other barrels, it’s best not to drink the water from its stem, which can cause stomach problems and dehydration.
Regal Horned Lizard
This lizard is something out of a scary movie because its form of self-defense involves shooting blood from its eyes. If you don’t want to be in the wet zone it’s best to move farther than 3 feet away. Some other self-defense maneuvers include inflating themselves to appear too big to eat and if all else fails they can camouflage themselves well in the surrounding environment.
Strawberry Hedgehog
This cactus is neither strawberry nor hedgehog, so what’s with the name? The Strawberry Hedgehog cactus gets its name from its spine and its fruit. The spines come off of several stems, making for clusters of spines that resemble a hedgehog. As for the fruit, it isn’t strawberry but tastes awfully close.
Colorado River Toad
The Colorado River Toad hides away underground to escape the heat during the day but at night, especially the rainy nights of spring and summer they arise and come croaking through the night. It is the largest native toad in the United States and they can get up to 8 inches long!
However, they do have warts that secrete poison so it’s best to keep your dogs away from them as they can kill or paralyze dogs which is toad-ally not cool!
Nopal
With a long and storied history, you can find the nopal in anything from a margarita to the Mexican flag. Also known as the prickly pear cactus, the nopal is distinguishable from other cacti with its pad-shaped stems.
This cactus is notable for its edibility. Both its fruit, the cactus fig, and the pads that make the stems can be eaten raw or cooked to order, as long as you remove the prickles and skins. You can find the fruit in jams, candies, and the aforementioned drink!
Round Tailed Ground Squirrel
Round-Tailed Ground Squirrels mostly live in, you guessed it, the ground, but did you know that they communicate with whistles. They have a warning whistle that when sounded tells the other squirrels to hit the ground running back home to their burrows. Then they will peek their heads out and look around for danger. After a proper assessment, they can freely roam again when the coast is clear.
Jumping Cholla
If you don’t like jump scares, stay away from this prickly plant! The jumping cholla is a tall and spindly species, reaching 12 to 15 feet in height. Like many other cacti, it produces flowers and fruit. But does it really jump?
Not in the literal sense! The jumping cholla spreads itself throughout the desert by having easily detachable joints, catching itself on any people or animals who wander too close. The joint then takes root wherever it falls, creating a whole new cholla!
Desert Cottontail
It’s a hard life for the Desert Cottontail as it has a lot of predators out in the desert. They include rattlesnakes, eagles, owls, hawks, badgers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and humans. The heat is also a factor for these little guys: anything above 80 degrees, a common occurrence in the desert, and they are less active. They are most active during twilight and nighttime, but you can catch them hanging out on a cool day.
Pencil Cholla
Western Banded Gecko
This one’s got a point! The pencil cholla is sharper than any number 2 pencil you can find. Because its pencil spines are so thin and spread out, the green stem is easy to make out compared to other cacti. Its flowers are also relatively small, and don’t blossom large enough to cover the cactus.
These sneaky little Geckos have a walk like scorpions in an effort to trick predators. If that tactic doesn’t work and it gets caught it can break off its tail but not to worry! A Gecko’s tail can grow it back very quickly. It will, however, grow back shorter and with different patterns and scales than before.
Purple Nopal
The purple nopal is praised for its peculiar purple pigmentation. This pleasantly purple plant practically perfects produce, the fruit it grows in the summer months is food for many animals like rabbits and pack rats!
This pretty purple nopal is impactful and poise, making it prickly perfect!
Gambel's Quails
You might think that a Quail has one feather on its head but it’s actually made up of six tightly stack feathers. Male quails wear their plumes like a crown using it to assert their dominance over other males.
Funny enough you may find some of the Gambel’s Quails on vacation in Hawaii. This is because in the 1950s and 60s the Hawaii Division of Fish and Game introduced them to the Hawaiin Islands and some are still there today.
Teddy Bear Cholla
You don’t want to cuddle with this teddy bear! But the teddy bear cholla definitely wants to hug you. Teddy bear chollas will jump on you and cling to your jacket, or your pants. And they won’t let go till they feel like it.
While people may not love teddy bear cholla hugs, birds and rats do. Birds use teddy bear cholla arms to make nests and rats use fallen cholla branches to make protective barriers around their nests to fend off predators. So just bear with them because they are super useful to the ecosystem!
Devil Scorpion
Scorpions have little hairs on their legs that work kinda like sonar. They can detect vibrations of nearby prey up to 1 foot away. Although Devil Scorpion stings are poisonous they are not lethal and they only sting for self-defense.
One of the coolest things about scorpions is that they glow under UV light! Shining a black-light will reveal scorpions you didn’t see before. So if you live in the desert and are curious enough you can use a UV light to see if they might be lurking in your home.
Soaptree Yucca
Despite what the name may sound like, the yucca is not, in fact, unfit for consumption. It provides several food options, including its flower stalks, blossoms, seeds, and fruit. The yucca also has a secret - contrary to popular opinion, it’s not a cactus! It is actually a type of succulent.
This isn’t your typical windowsill succulent. The leaves are stiff and saw-like, and will leaf you thinking it’s a cactus after all. The tallest yucca species, the Joshua tree, stands thirty to forty feet high.
Mourning Dove
Mourning Doves are regular lloronas and get their name from their sad-sounding song they sing. If you live in the Sonoran desert you will hear them singing it constantly and if you see one alone it’s likely to have lost its mate because once they find their special bird they stay with them for life.
Would you want to try “pigeon milk”? Doves are not mammals and do not produce milk the traditional way. Instead when it’s time to feed their young they serve them a nice nutritious regurgitated fluid.
Succulents
These small and popular plants brighten up spaces, from homes to offices. With over 10,000 species, it’s easy to find one to gift a friend or family member that fits their personality. They can symbolize many different things, from love to good luck and prosperity.
Arizona Red Spotted Purple
The Arizona Red Spotted Purple does a common trick mimicking the patterns of other toxic butterflies so that birds will leave it alone. When in caterpillar form it has a similar trick but not as graceful. It mimics the look of waste, something similar to bird excrement.
Bee Assassin
This bug is as its name implies a predator of bees. While it has one of the coolest names for a bug, be careful because its bite can be painful to humans too.
Orange Skipperling
The Orange Skipperling is a moth that lives in the grass that grows on the canyon cliffs. This canyon-dwelling insect can be found almost all year round!
