Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Desert

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Common

About

A spineless-looking but well-armed desert cactus with flat, paddle-shaped pads named for their resemblance to a beaver's tail. Instead of large spines, its pads bristle with tiny hair-like glochids that detach at the slightest touch.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Caryophyllales

Family

Cactaceae

Genus

Opuntia

Species

Opuntia basilaris