This is a photo of some Teddy Bear Cholla cactus or Cylindropuntia bigelovii. These cactus have a solid mass of very sharp spines that gives them the appearance of being soft and fluffy. From time to time, the cactus drops portions of its spiny arms to the ground and over time these dropped spiny balls root and grow into new baby cactus. This is the first time I recall seeing this occur in such a dramatic way. If you look closely at the photo you can see many small rooted cactus surrounding the two larger ones. Eventually, these cholla cactus form an entire dense "forest" of cactus.
A note on the word "cactus." The singular of cactus is cactus. One traditional plural form of the word cactus is cacti. Modern usage also recognizes the word cactuses. However, when used as a collective noun, the word cactus can mean a large number of cacti or cactuses.
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