Opuntia aurea Baxter.   October 9, 1981, Zion National Park, Kolob Road, Washington Co. Utah  Highly restricted endemic in southern Utah (western Kane and Wash. Cos; adjoining AZ) but relatively abundant in its limited range. Synonyms include O. basilaris var. aurea and Opuntia erinacea var. aurea. Has been greatly confused by Utah taxonomists/botanists with Opuntia macrorhiza (which does not seem to be present in a true form in the area at all, and the abundancy referred to within that species actually appears to relate to O. aurea and its hybrids) and Opuntia basilaris, and with spineless morphotypes of O. polyacantha. Hybridizes with other species including O. polyacantha and O. phaeacantha. In its pure form, is smaller than the above, and has yellow flowers. Larger plants with pink flowers and that typically have some pads with terminal spines are O. aurea x O. polyacantha hybrids.