Native records: 5 botanical areas
Arizona, California, Mexico Northwest, 2 more areas
See all areasNatural distribution
Explore mapNativeIntroducedUncertain
Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.
Last updated:
Distribution last verified:
A tree of desert or dry shrubland climates. Native to United States, Mexico.
This entry carries only the classification and distribution data recorded in WCVP. A written account is not yet available.
Distribution areas
Mexico
- Mexico NorthwestNative
Spain
- Canary Is.Introduced
United States of America
- ArizonaNative
- CaliforniaNative
- NevadaNative
- UtahNative
Climate of the native range
The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.
- BSk Arid, steppe, cold
- BWh Arid, desert, hot
- BWk Arid, desert, cold
- BSh Arid, steppe, hot
- Csa Temperate, dry summer, hot summer
- Csb Temperate, dry summer, warm summer
- Dfb Cold, no dry season, warm summer
- Dsb Cold, dry summer, warm summer
The same climate occurs in 119 areas worldwide, 113 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map
A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).
Other names
Bakersfield beaver-tail cactus、Beavertail Prickly-pear、Kern beaver-tail cactus
- Family
- Cactaceae
- Genus
- Opuntia
Other species in Opuntia
- Opuntia auberi
- Opuntia aurantiacaJointed Cactus
- Opuntia aureaGolden Prickly-pear
- Opuntia aureispinaGolden-spined Prickly-pear
- Opuntia austrinaDevil's-Tongue
- Opuntia azureaPurple Pricklypear
- Opuntia bentonii
- Opuntia bonaerensis
- Opuntia bonplandii
- Opuntia bravoana
- Opuntia caboensis
- Opuntia camanchica
Sources
World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Spain · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Mexico · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
United States of America · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open source
Image information
Photograph of Opuntia basilaris
Chris Hunkeler from Carlsbad, California, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · File page