Set in Southern California, my HO scale layout includes a Southern Pacific train order office surrounded by a desert scene. Although this arid landscape has sparse vegetation, my scene needed two ...

Simple care tips to help your Christmas cactus recover from flowering and prepare for a lush spring growth ...

It began innocently enough. While trail running at the El Modena Open Space in Orange a few years ago, I lost my balance and threw out my arms for stability. That’s when I backhanded a coastal prickly ...

Bobcats can do a lot of things: swim and climb trees, live to be 12 years old and have home ranges spanning up to 20 square miles. They can also climb a giant, prickly cactus without thinking twice. A ...

Editor's note: This story was initially published on Dec. 20, 2020. Updated in December 2025. Under the right conditions, Christmas cacti are the holiday plants that keep blooming, and not just for ...

Prickly desert cactus sounds like the last thing you’d want to eat. But -- surprise! -- once the spines are off, cactus is juicy and tender, great in anything from salads and soups to main courses and ...

The Washington State Legislature started the session with a prickly subject. “Sometimes folks think Olympia is all about the ...

Could cactus pear become a major crop like soybeans and corn in the near future, and help provide a biofuel source, as well as a sustainable food and forage crop? According to a recently published ...

A rare tree cactus that grew for decades hidden by a tangle of mangrove trees on Florida's Key Largo has lost its battle with rising sea levels and other pressures. It's now considered locally extinct ...

A close-up of Opuntia, commonly known as prickly pear cactus. A couple of years ago, if someone mentioned "cactus water", you'd probably picture it as something you'd reluctantly consume as a last ...