Beavertail Cactus

Description:

The beavertail Cactus is a medium-sized pear cactus, growing to about 60 cm tall and consisting of beaver-tail shaped flattened pads. They are spineless, but have many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that cand easily penetrate the skin. The pink to rose colored flowers are most common; however, a rare variety of white and even yellow flowers also exist. Opuntia basilaris bloom from spring to early summer. These pics were taken too late to see the flowers since it was already September.

Habitat:

Found in Alabama Hills, CA. This is a cactus species found in southwest United States. It occurs mostly in the Mojave Desert, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and Colorado Deserts, and also in the Colorado Plateau and northwest Mexico; it ranges through the Grand Canyon and Colorado River region to southern Utah, and in western Arizona, regions along the Lower Colorado River Valley.