Opuntia basilaris (Beavertail Cactus)

 3/21/04 Bajada All-Access Nature Trail, Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, CA

 4/4/04 Cottonwood Road, south of Cottonwood Visitor Center, Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, CA

 4/27/01 Kelbaker Road (heading north to Cinder Cones), Mojave National Preserve,

East Mojave, San Bernardino County, CA

 5/25/03 Teutonia Peak Trail, Cima Dome, Mojave National Preserve,

East Mojave, San Bernardino County, CA

 4/9/95 Cactus Loop Trail across from Tamarisk Grove Campground, Anza Borrego 
Desert State Park, San Diego County, CA

3/4/17 Shaver's Valley, E. Riverside County, CA

 4/3/11 Shavers Valley, Riverside County, CA

4/3/11 Shaver's Valley

12/10/05 Shavers Valley, Riverside County, CA

4/27/01 Black Canyon Road, south of Hole-in-the-Wall, Mojave National Preserve,

East Mojave, San Bernardino County, CA

5/13/00 N-6 en route to Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area (San Gabriel Mountains), 
Los Angeles County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: Beavertail Cactus

SPECIES: Opuntia basilaris

FAMILY: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 4/9/1995

LOCATION: Cactus Loop Trail across from Tamarisk Grove Campground, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Stem clumped, ascending to erect, 7–40 cm; segments flat, generally erect, 5–21 cm, generally puberulent; spines generally 0(–8); bristles many

Flower: inner perianth ± 4 cm, pink-magenta; filaments deep magenta-red; style white or pink, stigma white

Fruit 2–4 cm, becoming dry, green and purple becoming tan, generally puberulent; areoles 24–76

Seed 6.5–9 mm, ± spheric

Ecology: Desert, chaparral, pinyon/juniper woodland

Elevation: 120–2200 m.  

Bioregional distribution: s Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountain Area, se San Joaquin Valley, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains (and adjacent South Coast), e Peninsular Ranges, s East of Sierra Nevada, Desert 

Distribution outside California: to Utah, Arizona, Mexico