More From Dan in La Quinta Cove
It’s a cactus wildflower photo – my g-d that’s a vibrant pink.
Opuntia basilaris – It’s a beavertail cactus with lot’s of subspecies. Anyone want to guess at a subspecies? I have Anderson’s “The Cactus Family” here and I prefer not to make any guesses. However, we do find out that the stems of this plant were used by the Shoshoni for medicinal purposes, “The Shoshoni make a poultice from the inner part of the stem and apply it to cuts and wounds for pain.”
We have found this to be a very difficult species to grow in the Bay Area – too much rain, even with our very fast draining soil mix. So we keep them indoor, and then they only rot out every 2 to 3 years.
