They are called darning needle cactus by the locals because there's a single sharp thorn for each areole. It's a thin, ropey cholla that nobody grows much anymore. But I have many of them here in the ...

When I was a little kid we called them “darning needles,” and lived in heart-stopping fear that they’d sew our lips shut if one of them ever landed on us. I mean, we were absolutely petrified of the ...