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Cochemiea dioica
Also called Peninsular Fishhook Cactus, Fish Hook Cactus, Pincushion Cactus, Strawberry Cactus
Coastal fish hook cactus is a small, spiny desert succulent from southern California and northwest Mexico, grown for its hooked central spines and edible red fruit. It needs sharp drainage and very sparing water.
Cochemiea dioica, also called the strawberry cactus, California fishhook cactus, strawberry pincushion or fishhook cactus, is a cactus species of the genus Cochemiea. Its common name in Spanish is biznaga llavina.
The cactus is found in the western Colorado Desert scrub including in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and in Coastal sage scrub habitats of Southern California; and in coastal chaparral and Sonoran Desert habitats of Baja California and Baja California Sur states on the Baja California peninsula of México. It grows from 10–1,500 feet (3.0–457.2 m) in elevation.
The Kumeyaay people (Diegueño), of Baja California and Southern California, eat the raw fruits as a food source.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cochemiea dioica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
