Opuntia keeps in livestock and marks the boundaries of family lands. They are resilient and often grow back following removal. The cactus lends its name to a song by British jazz/classical group Portico Quartet. The song "My Rival", on the album "Gaucho" by the American jazz-pop group Steely Dan begins with the words, "The wind was driving in my face/The smell of prickly pear." In the fall of 1961, Cuba had its troops plant an barrier of "Opuntia" cactus along the northeastern section of the fence surrounding the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to stop Cubans from escaping Cuba to take refuge
Opuntia basilaris These are more or less blue-gray, depending on variety, long and less than wide and thick. They are typically spineless, but have instead many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin. "Opuntia basilaris" blooms from spring to early summer. The species is variable in nature and several names under different ranks have been described. Only four of these are generally accepted. Some experts consider the Trelease's beavertail to be a full species (Bowen 1987, R. van de Hoek). It is unique among the varieties of "Opuntia basilaris" in that the areoles contain spines in addition to the