Beavertail pricklypear cactus is common in the Mojave and western Sonoran Deserts, where it primarily receives winter rainfall. The typical species produces new pads at or just above ground level, and those pads tend to be gray-green to green or even purple green, depending upon the amount of sunlight the plant receives. The flowers are large and magenta. These plants are rooted pads in one-gallon pots.