XOpuntia basilaris - Beavertail PricklypearX
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Beavertail Pricklypear -or- Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris), family Cactaceae (Cactus) This flower view from a sighting in Alamo Nevada on May 7, 2017.
There are many species in the Opuntia genus, with this being only the 3rd that we have encountered in our explorations. Prickly pears are native to the Americas but have been distributed to other areas of the world. Species basilaris is found only in 4 states, see the plant slide. In general Opuntias are known as Prickly Pears and have a long history of uses for food. Their nutritional content is considered to be modest - Vitamin C and magnesium offer the highest concentrations of dietary beneficials.
USES: Recorded uses by Native American tribes are: Cahuilla - Buds cooked and dried for indefinite storage. Seeds ground into mush. Buds cooked and eaten. Joints boiled and mixed with other foods or eaten as greens. Duegueno - Fruit cleaned of thorns and eaten. Fruit dried and sold by children in small sacks for ten cents. Kawaiisu and Tubatulabal - General food uses.
Opuntia basilaris hosts 4 recognized varieties: basilaris, brachyclad, longiareolata (Arizona & Utah only), and treleasei (endangered/has spines). We would not presume to claim the technical knowledge to distinguish a specific var from the sightings we encountered. From among these, however, there may well be a var. based on botanic keys and location. The sightings were months and areas apart - two from February 2017 with no blooms - 2 others from early May 2017, in 2 states. Click on the side slides for specifics.
Flower -
Plant location: This plant view, Black Canyon - Bishop California - May 5, 2017
Found in the following United States: Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. Habitats include: Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland, Chaparral, Southern Oak Woodland, Coastal Sage Scrub, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Valley GrasslandPlant -
Bloom season: February through June, commonly
Stem segment -
Black Canyon - Bishop California - May 5, 2017
This flower had just recently opened on the plant shown in the main plant view. The color was especially vivid and fresh. It was a great treat to find a Beavertail blooming at last! -
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Black Canyon - Bishop California - May 5, 2017
Close up of stem segment (we call them paddles) and areoles (small well defined area on a surface - region of a cactus bearing the flowers and spines) This stem segment contains roughly 10-12 areoles at mid-point. If any, this would be var. basilaris. -
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Alamo - Nevada - May 7, 2017
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Death Valley - California - February 11, 2017
Plant view, areoles more pronounced, in contrast to Black Canyon specimen. -
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Joshua Tree - California - February 22, 2017
Plant view, areoles much less raised than the Death Valley specimen, more like the Black Canyon specimen. -