Opuntia basilaris

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Opuntia basilaris
Wild Opuntia basilaris.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Opuntia
Species:
O. basilaris
Binomial name
Opuntia basilaris

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. [2] [3]

Contents

Description

Opuntia basilaris is a medium-sized to small prickly pear cactus 70–400 mm (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 mm (2.0–8.3 in) long and less than 100 mm (3.9 in) wide and 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) thick. They are typically spineless, but as is typical for Opuntia species, have many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin. Opuntia basilaris blooms from spring to early summer. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy

Opuntia basilaris, Opuntia sphaerocarpa, Opuntia erinacea Opuntia Basilaris Plate XIII.png
Opuntia basilaris, Opuntia sphærocarpa, Opuntia erinacea

One of the first known descriptions of opuntia basilaris come from the reports of the explorations and surveys for a railroad route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. This expedition followed the 35th parallel through New Mexico, Arizona, and California. In the 4th volume of this report, The Botany of the Expedition, by George Engelmann and John M. Bigelow, Opuntia basilaris is described as a stout fan shaped opuntia resembling an open cabbage head, with accompanying illustrations. [5]

Varieties

The species is variable in nature and several names under different ranks have been described. Only four of these are generally accepted.

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.

Distribution and habitat

This species of cactus is found in the Southwest US regions including California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Northwestern Sonora, Mexico. This plant can be found in chaparral, desert, and grassland. This cactus grows in well draining mediums composed of sand, gravel, cobble, or even on boulders. [6] [7]

Chemistry

Opuntia basilaris contains 0.01% mescaline and 4-hydroxy-3-5-dimethoxyphenethylamine. [8]

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. [9] The Diegueño would consume it as a dried fruit after removing the thorns. [10] The Shoshone Native American Tribe took advantage of the analgesic properties of this cactus by creating a poultice from the inner mucilage to treat minor cuts. [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Opuntia engelmannii</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia engelmannii is a prickly pear common across the south-central and Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It goes by a variety of common names, including desert prickly pear, discus prickly pear, Engelmann's prickly pear in the US, and nopal, abrojo, joconostle, and vela de coyote in Mexico.

<i>Opuntia gosseliniana</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia gosseliniana, commonly known as the violet pricklypear, is a species of cactus that is native to Pima County, Arizona in the United States and Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora in Mexico.

<i>Opuntia stricta</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia stricta is a species of large cactus that is endemic to the subtropical and tropical coastal areas of the Americas, especially around the Caribbean. Common names include erect prickly pear and nopal estricto (Spanish). The first description as Cactus strictus was published in 1803 by Adrian Hardy Haworth. In 1812 he moved the species to the genus Opuntia.

<i>Opuntia phaeacantha</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia phaeacantha is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common names brown-spine prickly pear, tulip prickly pear, and desert prickly pear found across the southwestern United States, lower Great Plains, and northern Mexico. The plant forms dense but localized thickets. Several varieties of this particular species occur, and it may hybridize with other prickly pears, making identification sometimes tricky.

<i>Opuntia monacantha</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia monacantha, commonly known as drooping prickly pear, cochineal prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae native to South America.

<i>Opuntia fragilis</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia fragilis, known by the common names brittle pricklypear and little prickly pear, is a prickly pear cactus native to much of western North America as well as some midwestern states such as Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. It also occurs in several Canadian provinces. It is known from farther north than any other cactus, occurring at as far as 56°N latitude in British Columbia. There is an isolated and possibly genetically unique population in Eastern Ontario known as the "Kaladar population".

<i>Opuntia</i> Genus of cactus

Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, nopal from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus. The genus is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus, where, according to Theophrastus, an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. The most common culinary species is the Indian fig opuntia (O. ficus-indica).

<i>Cylindropuntia echinocarpa</i> Species of cactus

Cylindropuntia echinocarpa is a species of cactus known by the common names silver cholla, golden cholla, and Wiggins' cholla. It was formerly named Opuntia echinocarpa.

<i>Cylindropuntia californica</i> Species of cactus

Cylindropuntia californica is a species of cholla cactus known by the common name snake cholla. It is primarily found in Baja California, Mexico and the southernmost part of California in the United States. It is characterized by a short, decumbent habit, yellow-green flowers, elongated stems, and short spines. It is mostly found in coastal sage scrub and coastal chaparral habitats, but two varieties in Baja California can be found in foothills and deserts. In California, variety californica is regarded as a rare and threatened plant, with a California Native Plant Society listing of 1B.1, in part due to its limited number of occurrences and threats from development. It formerly was considered to have a larger range due to the inclusion of Cylindropuntia bernardina within it as the variety parkeri.

<i>Cylindropuntia leptocaulis</i> Species of cactus

Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, the desert Christmas cactus, desert Christmas cholla, pencil cactus, or tasajillo, is a species of cholla cactus.

<i>Opuntia aciculata</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia aciculata, also called Chenille pricklypear, old man's whiskers, and cowboy's red whiskers, is a perennial dicot and an attractive ornamental cactus native to Texas. It belongs to the genus Opuntia. It is also widespread in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.

<i>Pediocactus bradyi</i> Endangered species of cactus

Pediocactus bradyi is a very rare species of cactus known by the common names Brady's pincushion cactus, Brady's hedgehog cactus, and Marble Canyon cactus. It is endemic to Arizona in the US, where it is restricted to Marble Canyon in Coconino County, though its exact distribution is not generally advertised due to poaching concerns. It is limited to a specific type of soil, it has a small distribution, and the species is threatened by a number of human activities. This has been a federally listed endangered species of the United States since 1979.

<i>Sclerocactus glaucus</i> Species of cactus

Sclerocactus glaucus is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Colorado hookless cactus. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from the area between Grand Junction and Montrose. It is a federally listed threatened species.

<i>Opuntia polyacantha</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia polyacantha is a common species of cactus known by the common names plains pricklypear, starvation pricklypear,. and hairspine cactus, panhandle pricklypear. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in Western Canada, the Great Plains, the central and Western United States, and Chihuahua in northern Mexico. In 2018, a disjunct population was discovered in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario, Canada.

<i>Opuntia macrocentra</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia macrocentra, the long-spined purplish prickly pear or purple pricklypear, is a cactus found in the lower Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. A member of the prickly pear genus, this species of Opuntia is most notable as one of a few cacti that produce a purple pigmentation in the stem. Other common names for this plant include black-spined pricklypear, long-spine prickly pear, purple pricklypear, and redeye prickly pear.

<i>Opuntia pinkavae</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia pinkavae, common names Bulrush Canyon prickly-pear or Pinkava's pricklypear, is a species of cactus known only from northern Arizona and southern Utah. It grows in sunny locations in grasslands, on the edges of pinyon-juniper woodlands, on sandy or limestone soils.

<i>Opuntia diploursina</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia diploursina is a species in the family Cactaceae, that grows near and in Lake Mead National Recreation Area and extending northward across Nevada's Mormon Mesa into Utah.

<i>Opuntia rufida</i> Species of cactus

Opuntia rufida is a species of prickly pear cactus native to southwestern Texas and northern Mexico, where it grows on rocky slopes. The species makes up for its total lack of spines with a profusion of red-brown glochids. The common name blind prickly pear or cow blinder comes from the fact that the glochids may be carried away by the wind and blind animals.

References

  1. ↑ Pinkava, D.J.; Baker, M.; Puente, R. (2017) [amended version of 2013 assessment]. "Opuntia basilaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T152316A121587572. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T152316A121587572.en . Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Opuntia basilaris". in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  3. 1 2 Sullivan, Steven. K. (2018). "Opuntia basilaris". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  4. ↑ "Opuntia basilaris". Opuntia Web. 24 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Engelmann, George; Bigelow, John M. (1856). Pacific Railroad Survey Reports "The Botany of The Expedition". Vol. 4. Washington DC: US Government Printing Office. pp. 43–44.
  6. ↑ Williams, Daniel; Cypher, Ellen; Kelly, Patrick; Miller, Karen; Norvell, Nancy; Phillips, Scott; Johnson, Cheryl; Colliver, Gary (1998). Recovery Plan for Upland Species of the San Joaquin Valley, California. Portland, Oregon: US Fish and Wildlife Service. pp. 49–50.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Edward F. (2001). The Cactus Family. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press Inc. p. 498. ISBN   0-88192-498-9.
  8. ↑ "Plant Chemistry".
  9. ↑ "Temalpakh Ethnobotanical Garden". Malki Museum. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  10. ↑ Ken, Hedges (1986). Santa Ysabel ethnobotany. San Diego Museum of Man. ISBN   0-937808-42-3. OCLC   1170591869.
  11. ↑ Moerman, Daniel E. (1998). Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, Incorporated. p. 365. ISBN   0-88192-453-9.
  12. ↑ Shirazinia, Reza; Rahimi, Vafa Baradaran; Kehkhaie, Ashrafali Rezaie; Sahebkar, Amirhossein; Rakhshandeh, Hassan; Askari, Vahid Reza (2019-03-31). "Opuntia dillenii : A Forgotten Plant with Promising Pharmacological Properties". Journal of Pharmacopuncture. 22 (1): 16–27. doi: 10.3831/KPI.2019.22.002 . ISSN   2093-6966. PMC   6461298 . S2CID   115176164.
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