Teddy bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii)

This fuzzy-looking cactus is ironically named teddy bear cholla. From a distance, it looks soft and cuddly. Close up, it will grab you and hold on with the ferociousity of an obsessed lover. The seeds of this cactus are sterile. It has evolved another way entirely to survive in some of the most harsh of desert conditions. It can colonize sizable areas. The long spines have little barbs on their sharp tips. The barbs easily catch on fur or clothing. Once they have caught something a piece of the stem breaks off and clings tenaciously its host. When this terribly spiny stem is finally released, after intense pain, it falls to the ground and easily takes root. So, this tough, brutal plant reproduces asexually. Pliers are needed to pull out the barbed spines from the host’s flesh.