Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris – “Beavertail Cactus”

Also Known As: Beavertail Prickly Pear
Family: Cactus (Cactaceae)
Bloom Period: Apr-Jun
Form: Flattened pads on sprawling or upright branches; up to 2 feet (0.6 m) tall
Habitat: Rocky places and sandy soils
Leaves: Typically spineless, but with many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin
Translation: “Opuntia” is an old Latin name used by Pliny, the Roman writer, which refers to the city of Opus where a cactus-like plant grew; “basilaris” is Greek for “regal.”
Native American Uses: The pads, buds, flowers, fruits and seeds are edible and were a staple food of the Cahuilla. They rolled the pads in sand to remove the spines and baked them in stone-lined pits. Buds were dried and stored. The Kumeyaay, Kawaiisu and Tübatulabal also ate this plant. The Shoshone treated wounds and the accompanying pain with a poultice of the pulp and rubbed the fuzz-like spines into warts and moles to remove them.
Animal Associations: All parts of the plant are eaten by the Desert Tortoise. Fruits and seeds eaten by the White-Tailed Antelope Ground Squirrel, Rock Squirrel, Ring-tailed Cat and occasionally the Coyote. The pads are an important source of water for the Desert Woodrat. Beavertail Cactus exudes nectar from dots on its pads and flower buds that attract ants which not only collect the nectar for themselves but also prey upon other, potentially harmful insects.