Opuntia littoralis
Opuntia littoralis

Beavertail Cactus

Beavertail Cactus, part of the cactus family, is a small to medium-sized prickly pear cactus that grows to about 60 centimeters tall. A single plant may consist of hundreds of fleshy flattened pads. Depending on the variety, these are blue-gray to green, growing to a length of 14 centimeters and are at maximum 10 centimeters wide and 1 to 1.5 centimeters thick. They are typically spineless but have instead many small barbed bristles called “glochids” that easily penetrate the skin. The pink or purple flowers, rarely white, bloom from spring to early summer.