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Eve's Needle

Austrocylindropuntia subulata, Cactaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Eve's Needle Cactus, Eve's Pin, Eve's Pin Cactus, Eve's-Pin Prickleypear and Long Spine Cactus.

Eve's Needle (Austrocylindropuntia subulata), the whole plant.
Tournasol7, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. NC State Extension publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Sources file this plant under other names: Austrocylindropuntia subulata 'Cristata'. Citations below point at the name its source uses.

Light
Full sun, Partial Shade
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage, Occasionally Dry
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exception
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam (Silt), Sand; pH Acid (<6.0), Alkaline (>8.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No record of poisoning in people is listed for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
It needs full sun or bright light indoors, good drainage and watering only now and then. Water well, then let the soil dry fully before watering again.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Layering, stem cuttings
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by mealybugs and scale insects.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Close view of Eve's Needle (Austrocylindropuntia subulata) foliage.
Close upAgnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Eve's Needle (Austrocylindropuntia subulata) growing wild.
In the wildEmőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Austrocylindropuntia subulata is a species of cactus native to the Peruvian Andes. The Latin specific epithet subulata means "awl-like", referring to the shape of the rudimentary leaves. It is also known by its common names as Eve's pin and Eve's needle.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Peru to Bolivia
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
desert or dry shrubland
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
succulent shrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Perennial, Shrub, Succulent, Tree; habit columnar, erect
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 12–156 in; width 4–60 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers gold/yellow, green, orange, red/burgundy; blooms in spring, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

In ancient Peru the plant served as fencing and its spines as needles. Its fruit can be eaten and can be fermented into cactus wine.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

More of the Cactaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.