Cylindropuntia prolifera

Coast cholla

Family: Cactaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Coast cholla is a California native shrub found in southern California coastal regions and Channel Islands in ocean bluffs and inland coastal scrub at elevations below 450 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces purple-red flowers in distinctive clusters emerging from areoles of older fruits. Growing up to 2 meters tall with few to several branches that curve upwards, it has easily detached terminal segments about 13 centimeters long. Its stems feature pale red-brown to dark brown spines, typically 6 to 14 per segment, surrounded by pale yellow-brown sheaths. The plant forms unusual "chained" fruits, with new flowers and fruits sequentially produced from areoles of older fruits, creating a distinctive segmented appearance.

Habitat: Ocean bluffs, inland coastal scrub

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 450 m

Bioregions: SCo, ChI

California counties: Orange, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.