Clinical manifestations following injury by cactus are seldom observed by physicians and are therefore rarely reported. The lesions may be the result of an accidental fall on a cactus plant or, more frequently, the result of naïveté of the uninitiated who attempt to pick a cactus plant, blossom, or fruit. These have tufts of short, fuzzy, barbed bristles (glochids), which penetrate more easily than spicules of glass. The larger cactus spines that arise from the areole, or "pincushion," are awl-shaped and because of their menacing, thorn-like appearance warn one to be cautious; besides, they may be sheathed, requiring more pressure for penetration, and not easily detached from the plant. The finer spines, or glochids, penetrate with practically no pressure because of their spiculate tip and filamentous caliber and are easily detached from the areole of the plant (Figs. A, B. C). REPORT OF CASE A white woman, aged