View photos of the edible cactus Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (Christmas cactus), profiled in Sonoran Desert Food Plants, Wild Edible Plants of New Mexico, and Wild Edible Plants of Texas (as Cylindropuntia spp.).

A passage from Sonoran Desert Food Plants:

Buds/fruit (w/ or w/o seeds) can then be eaten raw (limited), roasted, or dried for later use. The immature and non–woody joints can also be de–thorned/roasted and eaten.

A passage from Wild Edible Plants of New Mexico:

The thorns/glochids are removed via roasting, boiling, scrubbing, mechanically with a screen, or via a combination of techniques (I scrub them with a toothbrush in water).

A passage from Wild Edible Plants of Texas:

West Texas has the greatest diversity of Cholla species. Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (Christmas cholla) is the widest ranging Texas grower.