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Cylindropuntia californica
Also called Snake cholla
Cylindropuntia californica is a species of cholla cactus known by the common name snake cholla. It is primarily found in Baja California, Mexico and the southernmost part of California in the United States. It is characterized by a short, decumbent habit, yellow-green flowers, elongated stems, and short spines. It is mostly found in coastal sage scrub and coastal chaparral habitats, but two varieties in Baja California can be found in foothills and deserts. In California, variety californica is regarded as a rare and threatened plant, with a California Native Plant Society listing of 1B.1, in part due to its limited number of occurrences and threats from development. It formerly was considered to have a larger range due to the inclusion of Cylindropuntia bernardina within it as the variety parkeri.
All three varieties of this species are found in Baja California, Mexico, with var. california only found in the United States in southern San Diego County. Variety californica is usually found in sandy soils and sandy loams of slopes and valleys, typically in coastal sage scrub and coastal chaparral, at elevations of between 30 and 150 m (98 and 492 ft). The other two varieties in Baja California have more inland distributions, including one in the San Felipe Desert and one on the western slope of the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir.
Peach Springs Cholla · Buck-horn cholla · California Cholla · Teddybear cholla · Cylindropuntia calmalliana · Wiggins' cholla · Jumping cholla · Gander's buckhorn cholla · Walking Stick Cactus · Tree cholla · Christmas cactus · Long Spine Cholla
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cylindropuntia californica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
