Opuntia humifusa late spring. The juicy and edible red fruits measure from 3–5 cm. As the fruit matures, it changes colour from green to red, and often remains on the cactus until the following spring. There are 6 to 33 small, flat, light-colored seeds in each fruit. This species was originally native to arid areas of Montana southward to New Mexico, and eastward to the lower Great Lakes, and along the East Coast from the Florida Keys to coastal Connecticut. Some botanists treat this cactus as a variety of "Opuntia compressa": hence "Opuntia compressa" var. "humifusa", or a synonym of "Opuntia compressa".
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