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

Opuntia littoralis — reference photo — no rights reserved · CC0

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 Coastal Prickly Pear

Opuntia littoralis is a prickly pear cactus in the family Cactaceae, one of the pad-stemmed opuntias grown for their tough, sculptural form. It belongs to a genus of creeping, bushy or tree-like cacti bearing flattened, spine-studded pads, funnel-shaped flowers and fleshy fruit.

Source: RHS

From Californian Shores

This species is native to southwestern California through to Baja California Norte in Mexico, where it grows as a succulent shrub. Its natural setting is desert and dry shrubland, the kind of exposed, sun-baked ground typical of that coastal stretch. It was first published under its current name by Cockerell in 1905, after earlier description by Engelmann.

Source: Kew

Pads, Spines, Fruit

Like its relatives in Opuntia, this plant carries the familiar flattened, pad-like stem segments armed with spines and barbed bristles. Funnel-shaped flowers appear on the pads, followed in time by spiny, fleshy fruit. The variety littoralis itself is recognised as a distinct, accepted form within the species.

Source: RHS

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.

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 — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.