PHOENIX — Dina Stearns has hiked in Arizona and all over the country. She and her husband Ty hike a lot.
Stearns said the two of them love seeing, or as she put it, "meeting" all the different flora and fauna in each place they visit. She also once met a horticulturist, which is definitely important to this story.
Because Stearns took all that "expertise" and used it all to create a field guide to all the "pokey things you see on the trail in Arizona." She and her husband gave some of Arizona's desert plant life new names.
"My husband and I are silly hearts and just made them up while hiking because while we knew what some were called, we didn’t know them all at first," Stearns said in a Facebook message to 12 News.
PHOTOS: Phoenix couple creates field guide to the 'pokey things' found on Arizona hikes
The new names definitely make it a little easier to remember these Arizona plants, or at least why you should never touch them. The beloved saguaro cactus became the "don't hug me tree," ocotillo the "ouch-otillo," and the prickly pear cactus became the "green death pancake." Other hilarious names included the "stabby palm," "murder cucumber," and "hurty hairy."
"We thought these names are more fun," she said with a laugh, "and fitting and easier to remember."
Stearns and her husband created memes with the new names and posted them to Facebook.
"I first shared the post to a hiking group I am in here on FB and expected to get a few hahas and likes but no, never over 20k shares," Stearns said.
Weeks later her Facebook post has 25,000 shares and gave plenty of Arizona hikers a good chuckle.
"I love that it has made so many people laugh and brought joy!" Stearns said.