Cylindropuntia leptocaulis

Low spreading or erect, sparingly to densely branched shrub, 0.4–1.8 m high, to 4 m diam., large plants forming a central stem. Stem segments alternate, narrow-subcylindric, 2–8 cm long, 3–5.5 mm diam., obscurely tuberculate, glabrous, green or grey-green, often reddish, terminal segments easily detached; tubercles obscure, only evident at active branch apices, linear, 10–30 mm long, drying as elongate, riblike wrinkles. Areoles scarcely raised, filled with white wool, and glochids, 6–9 mm apart. Spines absent or 1 (–3) per larger ones per areole, straight or arching upward or downward, the longer ones 5–15 mm long, c. 0.5 mm wide at base, and often with 1–4 small, erect or spreading weak spines, 1.5–4 mm long, white; spine sheaths loose fitting, dirty creamish to grey. Glochids 1.2–2 mm long, white to pale brown. Flowers 10–20 mm diam.; outer tepals green; inner tepals pale yellow to greenish yellow, spreading. Staminal filaments greenish yellow, creamish at base, anthers yellow. Style yellow; stigma lobes pale yellow or greenish yellow. Hypanthium tuberculate at anthesis, spineless. Fruit solitary or proliferating and forming chains, ovoid to obovoid, 9–20 mm long, 9–10 mm diam., smooth, spineless, glochids often prominent, fleshy and juicy, orange to red at maturity, indehiscent. Flowers spring–early summer.