Opuntia ×occidentalis

Family: Cactaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Western prickly pear is a native shrub found in southern California coastal areas and the western edge of the Peninsular Ranges in chaparral habitat at elevations of 7 to 400 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces yellow to deep pink flowers that display vibrant yellow filaments. Growing as a sprawling to nearly erect shrub less than 1 meter tall, its branches have distinctive gray-green segments 19 to 35 centimeters long. Its areoles feature 3 to 6 spines, with the longest spines 2.5 to 5 centimeters long, including 1 to 2 yellow spines at the distal end and 2 to 4 shorter reflexed spines at the base. The fruit is a juicy, red-purple structure about 4.5 to 5 centimeters long, containing seeds 4 to 5.5 millimeters in size.

Habitat: Chaparral

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 7-400 m

Bioregions: SCo, w edge PR.

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