Floris van Breugel / Beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris) in otherwise stark desert, Alabama Hills, Owen's Valley, California, USA May

Jeff Foott / Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris) flowering, Death Valley National Park, California

Chris Mattison / Purple Prickly-pear or Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia santa-rita) Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA, May.

Tim Fitzharris / Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris) flowering, Arizona

Floris van Breugel / Beavertail cacti (Opuntia basilaris) in bloom with California fan palm trees (Washingtonia filifera) behind, Anza-Borrego State Park, California, April.

Tim Fitzharris / Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris) with Picacho Mountain in the background, Pichaco Peak State Park, Arizona

Tim Fitzharris / Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia longiareolata) flowering, North America

Patricio Robles Gil / Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) landscape, Chihuahuan Desert, Sierra del Carmen region, Coahuila state, Mexico

Rob Tilley / Beavertail Cactus {Opuntia basilaris} Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA

Pete Oxford / Beavertail prickly pear cactus {Opuntia basilaris} Anza Borrego NP, CA, USA.

Pete Oxford / Beavertail prickly pear cactus {Opuntia basilaris} Anza Borrego NP, CA, USA.

Patricio Robles Gil / Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris) and peaks in the Maderas del Carmen range, Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico