Opuntia littoralis Opuntia littoralis Opuntia littoralis is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common name coastal pricklypear. It is sometimes called the sprawling prickly pear due to its short stems and habit of growing close to the ground. ""Littoral"" means "pertaining to the seashore". "Opuntia littoralis" is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats. The cactus is variable in appearance; there are several varieties and hybrids with similar species are commonly found. "Opuntia littoralis" generally grows in dense clumps spreading several meters wide and up to a meter-3 feet
Opuntia readily between species. This can make classification difficult, yielding a reticulate phylogeny where different species come together in hybridization. Also, not all species listed here may actually belong in this genus, meaning that "Opuntia" is not a monophyletic group. "Opuntia" also has a tendency for polyploidy. The ancestral diploid state was 2n=22, but many species are hexaploid (6n = 66) or octaploid (8n = 88). Chollas, now recognized to belong to the distinct genus "Cylindropuntia", are distinguished by having cylindrical, rather than flattened, stem segments with large barbed spines. The stem joints of several species, notably the jumping cholla ("Cylindropuntia