Opuntia littoralis
Coastal pricklypear
Family CactaceaeAlso called Sprawling prickly pear
About
Coastal prickly pear is a low, clumping cactus of southern California and Baja California, growing in coastal sage scrub and chaparral. Its purplish-red fruit is edible.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Listed as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses, but spines and glochids cause injury. General guidance for the genus
- People
- Barbed glochids lodge in skin and irritate; wear gloves when handling. General guidance for the genus
- Light
- Full sun (6+ hours of direct sun); high light indoors. General guidance for the genus
- Water
- Very drought tolerant; avoid soggy soil, which causes root rot. General guidance for the genus
- Soil
- Well-drained sandy or loamy soil; cactus mix in pots. General guidance for the genus
- Propagation
- A single detached pad roots readily to form a new plant. General guidance for the genus
- Mature size
- Up to about 1 m tall, spreading several metres wide.
“General guidance for the genus” marks advice sourced for the genus as a whole rather than this species.
Field notes
Morphology
Dense clumps several metres wide and up to about 1 m tall, made of oval flat segments up to 22 cm long with clusters of yellowish spines 2–4 cm long. Flowers pale yellow to dull red in May–June; fruit purplish red, up to 5 cm.
Distribution & habitat
Southern California and Baja California, Mexico, including the Islas Coronados and the California Channel Islands. Variable, with several varieties and hybrids where related species meet.
History & etymology
The name littoralis means 'of the seashore'.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Mexico
- IUCN status
- Least concern
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- easy
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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