slgwv's photos with the keyword: beavertail

Along the Horsethief Canyon designated vehicle route in the Piper Mountain Wilderness, north of Death Valley, California. Beavertail ( Opuntia basilaris ) is a type of prickly pear cactus where the thorns are isolated in small clumps, leaving big flat blades like a beaver's tail. It was a staple of the local Native Americans and is also used in traditional Mexican cooking. You can often find the blades in the Hispanic foods section of supermarkets in the US Southwest.

A different species of prickly pear, in which the thorns occur in isolated clusters on the flat blades of the plant. Those oval blades vaguely resemble a beaver's tail, which is wide, flat, and hairless. Beavers use their tails both for swimming and for slapping the water surface as a warning. Arrow Canyon, southern Nevada.