Opuntia basilaris
Opuntia basilaris | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Genus: | Opuntia |
Species: | O. basilaris |
Binomial name | |
Opuntia basilaris Engelm. & J.M. Bigelow, 1857 | |
Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus or beavertail pricklypear, is a cactus species found in the southwest United States. It occurs mostly in the Mojave, Anza-Borrego, and Colorado Deserts, as well as in the Colorado Plateau and northwest Mexico. It is also found throughout the Grand Canyon and Colorado River region as well as into southern Utah and Nevada, and in the western Arizona regions along the Lower Colorado River Valley.[1][2]
Description
Opuntia basilaris is a medium-sized to small prickly pear cactus 70–400 millimetres (2.8–15.7 in) tall, with pink to rose colored flowers. A single plant may consist of hundreds of fleshy, flattened pads. These are more or less blue-gray, depending on variety, 50–210 millimetres (2.0–8.3 in) long and less than 100 millimetres (3.9 in) wide and 10–15 millimetres (0.4–0.6 in) thick. They are typically spineless, but have instead many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin. Opuntia basilaris blooms from spring to early summer.[1][2][3]
Varieties
The species is variable in nature and several names under different ranks have been described. Only four of these are generally accepted.
- Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris (2n=22)
- Opuntia basilaris var. brachyclada (2n=22) - Little beavertail pricklypear
- Opuntia basilaris var. heilii (2n=22) - Heil's beavertail
- Opuntia basilaris var. longiareolata (2n=22) - Elongated beavertail prickly pear or Grand Canyon beavertail pricklypear
- Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei(2n=33) - Trelease's beavertail prickly pear, Bakersfield cactus (This variety is designated as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act and California Endangered Species Act, which means that killing or possessing it is prohibited in California)
Some experts consider the Trelease's beavertail to be a full species (Bowen 1987, R. van de Hoek). It is unique among the varieties of Opuntia basilaris in that the areoles contain spines in addition to the bristles; this indicates that the species does vary a lot in its exterior.
Chemistry
Opuntia basilaris contains 0.01% mescaline and 4-hydroxy-3-5-dimethoxyphenethylamine.[4]
Uses
The Cahuilla Native Americans used beavertail as a food staple. The buds were cooked or steamed, and then were eaten or stored. The large seeds were ground up to be eaten as mush.[5]
Gallery
- Beavertail cactus with buds in Joshua Tree National Park
- Flowering beavertail cactus in Joshua Tree National Park
- Large flowering beavertail cactus in Joshua Tree National Park
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Opuntia basilaris". in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- 1 2 Sullivan, Steven. K. (2018). "Opuntia basilaris". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- ↑ "Opuntia basilaris". Opuntia Web.
- ↑ "Plant Chemistry".
- ↑ "Temalpakh Ethnobotanical Garden". Malki Museum. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
External links
Media related to Opuntia basilaris at Wikimedia Commons - Flora of North America; RangeMap
- Arizona Salvage Restricted Protected Native Plants
- Photo gallery
- Opuntia basilaris photo gallery at Opuntia Web
- Malki Museum