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Bougainvillea brings bold color and visual interest to rural or urban landscapes. A thorny, woody, floriferous vine native to South America, bougainvillea is disease resistant, drought-tolerant and easy to grow. More than 250 varieties of bougainvillea are available, including dwarf, semidwarf, thornless and giant.

Bougainvillea "Vera Deep Purple," a semidwarf variety recently introduced from Europe, presents brilliant fuchsia-colored clusters of flowers. The rounded leaves are light green. A low-growing plant, it reaches a mature height of 4 feet tall and grows up to 4 feet wide. The size and shape of the plant is controlled by pruning.

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Cacti known as chollas are native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They are known for their barbed spines that tenaciously attach to skin, fur, and clothing. Stands of cholla are called cholla gardens. Individuals within these colonies often exhibit the same DNA, as they were formerly tubercles of an original plant.

Cylindropuntia was formerly treated as a subgenus of Opuntia, but have now been separated based on their cylindrical stems (Opuntia species have flattened stems) and the presence of papery epidermal sheaths on the spines (Opuntia has no sheaths). A few species of mat- or clump-forming opuntioid cacti are currently placed in the genus Grusonia. Collectively, opuntias, chollas, and related plants are sometimes called opuntiads.

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