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In 2011, this was still wild habitat. Now in 2022, there are no cacti in this exact location anymore, but they probably still exist nearby.

The flower photo (same plant) was taken on May 16, and added here to show it along with the other photos.

The fruits showing are old and abnormal, probably with no seeds inside, but still give some idea of how good fruits would look.

This is a distinctive, rare, and likely critically endangered species. However, it has existed "off the radar" since its original description in 1914 by David Griffiths.

Visually (especially in photographs), on one hand, O. rugosa appears similar to true O. littoralis (from nearer the coast). However, O. rugosa is a relatively small, low spreading plant, while O. littoralis is a much larger, more upright shrubby plant. On the other hand, it shows strong similarities to the O. phaeacantha group of species.

O. rugosa has survived near-zero F temperatures under cultivation in New Mexico, while in my experience, O. littoralis is not particularly freeze tolerant and is generally damaged if frozen, and killed at around 15 to 20F.

Other species of Opuntia found growing in the Pamona / San Dimas / Covina area include O. oricola, occidentalis, semispinosa, covillei, vaseyi, basilaris, and an unnamed species (related to O. phaeacantha that is often misidentified as O. covillei). All of them seem to still be more abundant and wide-spread than is O. rugosa.

@jazzari