Species · genus Opuntia · Cactaceae

Coastal Prickly-pear

Opuntia littoralis (Engelm.) Cockerell

Also known as: Coastal Pricklypear

Growth habit

succulent shrub

Native range

California, Mexico Northwest

Reference · O. littoralis

Cultivars of O. littoralis

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under O. littoralis yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A succulent shrub from the arid coastal scrub of California and northwestern Mexico, this prickly pear stores water in its flattened pads and wants deep but infrequent watering in fast-draining, gritty mix. Water only when the mix has gone completely dry well below the surface, and err toward drought, since standing moisture readily causes rot. Give it the brightest, most direct sun you can offer.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 30 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

8–30 °C

Soil mix

Sharp-draining cactus mix with pumice or coarse sand

Propagation

Root a callused pad in dry mix

Fertilizing

Dilute low-nitrogen cactus feed once or twice in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Coastal Prickly-pear yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.