The stem segments of this plant are loosely attached so when a person or animal lightly brushes the plant the segment detaches and attaches to whatever brushed the plant. The spines are barbed much like a fishhook so the segments are difficult to remove without tearing the flesh. It seems that the cholla 'jumped' when in actuality it did not.
Yes, the jumping cholla is a plant and a producer.
A jumping cholla is a plant and produces its own food by photosynthesis.
Except for a few parasitic insects, few animals will even attempt to devour a jumping cholla.
Only a few insects such as scale insects and cochineal bugs will attack a jumping cholla.
Baja California ( Upper Mexico)
cus they can mate
Diamond Cholla and Devil Cholla are cacti that grow in Arizona.
During the 1940s and 1950s, they made furniture from the cholla (aka jumping cactus) plant. That included those lamps that had the cactus skeleton as the base. Tequila is made from agave cacti.
The life cycle of a jumping cholla cactus typically begins with pollination by insects, followed by the development of seeds inside the fruit. Seeds are dispersed when the fruit dries and breaks open, allowing them to be carried by wind or animals to new locations where they can germinate and grow into new cacti. The cycle then repeats as the new plants mature and produce flowers for pollination.
About the only animal that will attack a cholla cactus are scale insects that suck the fluids from the plant and can eventually kill it.
Roses, prickly pear cacti, Jumping cactus (cholla)
The big horn sheep eats the chain fruit cholla. This type of plant is considered a desert plant which can survive long times without water.