Family: Cactaceae
Group: Dicot
Substrate:
Terrestrial
Habit:
Shrub
Perennation:
Perennial
Native Range: Endemic to South Florida in the Florida Keys.
NatureServe Global Status:
Critically Imperiled
United States Federal Status:
Endangered
State of Florida Status:
Endangered
Florida Natural Areas Inventory State Status:
Critically Imperiled
IRC SOUTH FLORIDA Status:
Critically Imperiled
Map of select IRC data for peninsular Florida
SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence:
Present
SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status:
Native
South Florida History and Distribution: Ranked as critically imperiled in Rare Plants of South Florida (
Gann et al. 2002; pp 480-482) based on two occurrences in two conservation areas: Biscayne National Park in Miami-Dade County and Torchwood Hammock Preserve in the Monroe County. No new natural populations are known, but significant effort has been expended by the Florida Park Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, University of South Florida, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to establish new populations within its historical range.
SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status:
Cultivated
Comments: For a current review of
Consolea coralicolla throughout its range, see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Species Profile. See also Florida Natural Areas Inventory's
Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Florida page (Chafin 2000). See
Stiling et al. (2025) for a review of outplanting efforts conducted between 1996 and 2017.
Synonyms:
Opuntia corallicola; Opuntia spinosissima of Long & Lakela (1971), not Mill.
FLORIDA KEYS Occurrence:
Present
FLORIDA KEYS Native Status:
Native
IRC FLORIDA KEYS Status:
Critically Imperiled
Map of select IRC data for the Florida Keys
Florida Keys History and Distribution: Not reported for the Florida Keys by John Kunkel Small in 1913, but collected by Small and others (s.n., NY) in 1919. We consider this native and extant in the upper Keys and lower Keys. Also, see IRC's
species account from our book
Rare Plants of South Florida.
