Opuntia microdasys irritation so the plants must be treated with caution. The Latin specific epithet "microdasys" means “small and hairy”. The yellow flowers appear only rarely. Despite this, it is a very popular cactus in cultivation, partly because of the young plant’s comical resemblance to a rabbit’s head. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. The very closely related "Opuntia rufida" differs in having reddish-brown glochids. It occurs further north in northern Mexico, and into western Texas. Some botanists treat the two as a single species. Opuntia microdasys Opuntia microdasys (angel's-wings, bunny ears cactus, bunny cactus or polka-dot
Opuntia fragilis in). Both the common and scientific names refer to the easily detached stem segments. This is known to be a means of plant dispersal. "Opuntia fragilis" is a small, prostrate plant, rarely more than 4 inches high: joints tumid, fragile, easily detached, oval, elliptical, or subglobose, 1-2 in. long and nearly as thick as broad, bright green: areoles ¼-½ in. apart, with whitish wool and a few white to yellow bristles, which are much longer and more abundant on older joints; spines 1-4, occasionally a few small additional ones, weak, dark brown, the upper one usually longer and stronger than