''Cylindropuntia prolifera'', known by the common name Coastal cholla, is a species of

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gre ...

. In Australia it is called 'Jumping Cholla' because of it seeming to jump from outbreak to outbreak.

Description

''Cylindropuntia prolifera'' is a mostly erect, treelike cactus which can approach 3 meters in maximum height. The gray-green segments are narrow and cylindrical, surfaced in fleshy tubercles bearing many brown or reddish spines up to 2 centimeters long. The flowers are reddish purple and often borne on the fruits of previous seasons. Fruits grow in chains of up to 5 and are green in color.

Distribution

''Cylindropuntia prolifera'' is native to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, where it grows in

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterrane ...

, and beach and bluff habitat. It occurs from

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

south.accessed 9/9/2010 In parts of Australia, Cylindropuntia prolifera could be used as a case study in invasive species. It was introduced as a plant that looks after itself and doesn't need water. While they don't seem to flower as prolifically as the literature might suggest, they spread by stem segments breaking off and travelling on the fur and feet of animals, at times crippling or killing them, or on car tyres. Once dropped, the segments can survive many months until rain stimulates rooting. Chemical control is resource intensive, and in steep mountainous areas it is not only resource intensive, but dangerous. Cochineal beetles are being trialed for various ~opuntia genera. For Cylindropuntia prolifera they kill infected plants, but do not spread well, and so as new outbreaks are discovered, knobs of infected plants are manually transported to that site.

External links

''Cylindropuntia prolifera'' photo gallery at Cholla WebJepson Manual Treatment - ''Cylindropuntia prolifera''USDA Plants Profile: Cylindropuntia proliferaFlora of North America

References

Cylindropuntia, prolifera Cacti of Mexico Cacti of the United States Flora of Baja California Flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Cactus-stub

Description

Distribution

See also

External links

References