Below you can find the detailed description of the species Opuntia brachyclada
Family: Cactaseae
Scientific Name: Opuntia brachyclada
Synonym(s): basilaris var. brachyclada
Common Name(s): Beaver-tail
Cactus
Origin: Southwest USA (Arizona, California, Nevada) from 200 to 3000 feet elevation (60 to 900 m), northwestern Mexico (northern Baja California and northern Sonora)
Conservation Status: Listed in CITES
Appendix II
It is included in the CNPS Inventory of Rare and
Endangered Plants on list1B.2(rare,
threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere). 7th Edition / 8th Edition
Recommended Temperature
Zone: USDA: 7-10
Etymology: The genus
name "Opuntia"
refers to a Greek name used by Pliny for a diverse plant which grew in the
region of the town of Opus in Greece.
Description:
Succulent to 2 feet tall (60 cm), 4 feet spread (1.2 m); green or slighly purplish segments 3.2 to 5.6 inches long (8-14 cm), 1.6 to 4 inches wide (4-10 cm), glabrous or slightly pubescent; slightly pleated
during the dry season; areoles, many with white or brown wool and brownish
glochids; occasional spine in the upper areoles, or spineless.
The Beaver-tail Cactus is a smaller prickly
pear cactus, and it will often start blooming when it has only two pads. Beware
that the glochids (these little barbed bristles organized in clusters) can
penetrate the skin.
In the wild, its principal range is limited to the Mojave-Colorado desert
Spines: Usually spineless,
if a few spines are present they are confined to the upper rim of the pad.
Areolas: Numerous with white or brown wool
(3 mm of diameter), filled with brownish-reddish clustered bristles 3mm
long (glochids).
Flowers: The
beaver tail cactus has 2.6-3 inches wide (6-7 cm), fuschia colored flowers in March-April. The
spineless fruit is dry when ripe. The seeds are 0.24 to 0.4 inch in diameter (6-10 mm)
Fruits: Spineless,
globular
to obovate
4cm long. Tan grey and dry
at maturity,
areoles 24–76 usually puberulent.
The
fruits can be cooked, as well as the pads.
Seeds: Large, rounded, smooth, cream colored, 0.5 to 1cm in diameter
Habitat: Grows in very arid
plains and valleys (rainfall
mostly in winter
from 200 to 500 mm/year) in sandy
or rocky
soils
with a basic
pH
(Ranges 6 to 8), from sea level to 1300m
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Water Needs: little or no water once established, in its natural
distribution area, it receives mostly winter rains.
Cultivation: Best in very fast draining
mineral
soils this plant is very rot
prone, needs little water once established, avoid acid
soils rich in humus
or clayey.
Tolerates sand. Keep
dry in winter.
Frost
Tolerance: Hardy
to -5°: Sun
Exposure: They
need maximum light exposure in full
sun. Avoid shadow.
Handle with precautions to avoid the prickly glochids,
besides the blue pruina that
cover the cladodes
may be allergenic
for same people.
Soil pH requirements: 6.1
to 7.8
Min Temperature:
Frost Tolerance: Hardy to 0°F (-18°C)
Propagation Methods: From woody stem cuttings Allow cut urface to callous
over before planting From seed; direct sow after last frost
Seed Collecting:
Other:
Psychoactivity: Opuntia basilaris is a psychedelic
plant containing 0.01% mescaline and 4-hydroxy-3-5-dimethoxyphenethylamine.[1]
Several species from this large Genus
Opuntia is used as an add-mixture to ayahuasca by several South American Indian
tribes. A common type of Cacti, it grows naturally from Southern Canada, in the North, to the strait of Magellan
in the South and has spread through introduction all over the world.
