Beavertail Prickly-pear vs Castor

Opuntia basilaris compared with Ricinus communis

Key Differences

• Beavertail Prickly-pear is Least Concern while Castor is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Beavertail Prickly-pear	Castor
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Cactaceae	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Opuntia	Ricinus
Species	Opuntia basilaris	Ricinus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Beavertail Prickly-pear and Castor share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Beavertail Prickly-pear

LC — Least Concern

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Beavertail Prickly-pear	Castor
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Beavertail Prickly-pear

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

Beavertail Prickly-pear

The Beavertail Prickly-pear (Opuntia basilaris) is a species in the genus Opuntia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇹🇼 Taiwan