Opuntia prolifera Engelm.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Calif.; Mexico (Baja California).

Global Range: It occurs in California on Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, San Nicolas, Santa Catalina, and San Clemente islands; and on southern mainland near ocean from Ventura southward; rarely inland as far as San Fernando and Fall-brook. It also occurs in Mexico.

Shrubs or small trees, erect, 0.6-2.5 m. Stem segments easily detached, whorled or sub-whorled, green-gray, 4-15 × 3.5-5 cm; tubercles prominent, broadly oval, 1.5-2.5 cm; areoles subcircular to obovate, 4-7 × 3-5 mm; wool tan, aging brown to black. Spines 6-12 per areole, in all but proximalmost areoles, spreading, usually deflexed in abaxial ones, pale red-brown to dark brown, acicular, the longest to 2 cm; sheaths pale yellow-brown, shiny. Glochids in adaxial crescent and few along margin of areole, yellow to brown, 0.5-2.5 mm. Flowers: inner tepals rose to magenta, to 20 mm; filaments yellow-green to distally tinted pink to magenta; anthers yellow, sometimes bearing stigma-tipped, stylelike appendages; style greenish yellow to often pink distally; stigma lobes yellow to white. Fruits usually sterile, often proliferating into short erect chains of 2-5 fruits, green, broadly ovoid to top-shaped, 21-25(-35) × 20-32 mm, fleshy, smooth to shallowly tuberculate, spineless; umbilicus broadly shallow, 5-7 mm deep; areoles (20-)25-35. Seeds rare, globose; girdle smooth. 2n = 22, usually 33.

Opuntia prolifera Engelmann, Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 14: 338. 1852

Ocean bluffs, inland coastal sage flats, hills; to 300m.

Comments: Fine soils of hills, flats, ocean bluffs, valleys, along seacoast at low elevations.

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 21 - 80

Comments: Thirty EO's (Benson 1982).

Flowering spring (Apr-Jul).

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: G3 - Vulnerable

Comments: Most cacti subject to horticultural collecting.

Cylindropuntia prolifera is of hybrid origin; it occupies a habitat different from its putative parents, C. alcahes (F. A. C. Weber) F. M. Knuth and C. cholla (F. A. C. Weber) F. M. Knuth, two Mexican species.