Bakersfield cactus (Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei) is a succulent in the Opuntia or prickly-pear cactus family. It has beavertail-like pads and produces large, showy magenta flowers.

Bakersfield cactus differs from other varieties of beavertail cactus in that it has rigid spines.  The eye-spots on leaf pads contain spines in addition to bristles. Though some species of prickly-pear cacti have fleshy fruits, the fruit of Bakersfield cactus is dry. 

It is native to Kern County in the southern San Joaquin Valley but is now listed as federally and state endangered because its habitat continues to be lost to agricultural and urban uses. It occurs on sandy soil on floodplains, ridges, bluffs and rolling hills in saltbush scrub plant communities, and occasionally in blue oak woodland or riparian woodland at elevations from 460 to 1,800 feet. 

This plant may work well in a rock garden or container. A single plant may, in time, consist of hundreds of pads, which originate both at ground level and from the tips of other pads.