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This page last updated on 04/19/2020
This page last updated on 04/19/2020
Picture Notes: On 04/02/2011, on a recent trip to the Techatticup Mine in Eldorado Canyon, NV, I was able to capture these pictures of one of my favorite cacti when in bloom, the Beavertail Cactus. Notice that the one in (Fig. 01) above actually has a bumble bee nestled in the center, gathering pollen from its stamen (click the picture to enlarge full size). The picture in (Fig. 02) was taken on 04/01/2020 on the way to the marina east of Searchlight. As can be seen in (Fig. 03) only a small portion of the hundreds of buds were actually in bloom due to the relatively cold spring we have been experiencing. | ||||
Description: Opuntia basilaris, or more commonly called, the Beavertail Cactus. This low, spreading cactus with short bristles grows 6 to 12 inches high and up to 6 feet wide. The gray-green, jointed stems are wide and flat resembling the tail of a beaver. Oval in shape, the stems are 1 to 6 inches wide and 2 to 13 inches long. The stems grow in clumps with flowers from the top edge of the joints. When in bloom from March to June, it has brilliant red-to-lavender flowers 2 to 3 inches wide with many petals. Flowers are followed by a brownish-gray, oval fruit more than an inch long with many seeds. It is found in southwest USA, mostly in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, and also in northwest Mexico. The Beavertail Cactus is a smaller prickly pear cactus with hundreds of fleshy, blue-gray, flattened pads. They are usually spineless, but have instead small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin.
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