Opuntia basilaris Engelmann & J.M.Bigelow

Beavertail Cactus
Cactaceae - Caryophyllales

[Plants of San Diego County HOME]

Protologue: Pacif. Railr. Rep. Whipple, Bot. 4(5; 3): 48 (1856)
Pronunciation: O-pún-ti-a ba-si-là-ris
Etymology: Gr. name used by Pliny for some plant which grew around the town of Opus in Greece + basal, growing from the base

Jepson eFlora Treatment

Jepson eFlora Key to Opuntia taxa

Many infrataxa have been described. In California, 3 varieties are recognized:
var. basilaris
var. brachyclada
var. treleasii

Only Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris occurs in San Diego County,

SD County Synoptic Voucher


Distribution:
  
LEFT: S.D. County Plant Atlas (http://sdplantatlas.org), showing distribution of Opuntia basilaris var basilaris in the county.
RIGHT: CCH2 (http://cch2.org), showing distribution of the three California varieties. Both accessed 21 Apr 2020.

Images:

Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris
Grey-green pads (cladodes) have numerous glochidia but no large spines.


Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris
Beautiful flowers with bright pink tepals. Like all Opuntia's, the stamens are thigmotropic, move when touched, perhaps aiding in pollination.