Grand Canyon beavertail pricklypear

Opuntia longiareolata Clover & Jotter, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 68: 418, fig. 6. 1941; O. heilii S. L. Welsh & Neese

Stem segments often decumbent, flattened apically, spatulate, (5-)9-18 × 4-11 cm; areoles 6-8(-9) per diagonal row across midstem segment, elongate to usually circular. Spines absent. Fruits spineless. 2n = 22.

Flowering spring (Mar-Apr). Mojave and Great Basin deserts, clay hills, flats, canyon bottoms to bluffs; 600-1600 m; Ariz., Utah.

The elongate areoles that the specific epithet implies are not at all characteristic for Opuntia basilaris var. longiareolata and are sometimes found on plants of other varieties.