Cholla Garden Maze
The name cholla, pronounced chaw-yah meaning round or head, was created from about 1855 to 1860. The word came from an old French term meaning ball, originating from Germanic origin.
The meaning reflects any of the many spiny, cylindrical cacti of the botanical genus Cylindropuntia.
At one time, the cholla were included within the genus Opuntia but were reclassified to reflect their cylindrical stem growth and appearance. Also included in this garden you will find the very lower growing Grusonia. The genus Grusonia are commonly known as club cholla or dog cholla, mainly because of their stem shape and lower growing habit. Many plants are known to have common names.