Opuntia anahuacensis other species. It is commonly misidentified as "O. lindheimeri" and less commonly as "O. bentonii". Opuntia anahuacensis Opuntia anahuacensis is a cactus species in the "Opuntia" genus and a member of the Opuntioideae. It grows along the Gulf Coast of Texas, and perhaps northern Mexico. The plants are short, perhaps 1- or 2-ft tall, but they are wide. Some thickets may be 20- to 40-ft across and composed of multiple plants. The fruit is purplish. The cladodes are uniquely shaped, obovate with a neck. The original description claimed the plants were yellowish green, but they may be green or rarely
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