A TINY very rare dwarf species of Opuntia found on Big Pine Key, endemic to Florida. Lost in the fray as it has been mistakenly identified as Opuntia triacantha. They are separate species. If you want to buy it, it's in a 4" pot and will be shipped bare root in careful wrapping. If you aren't convinced this is a unique, special species, please endure the paragraphs below from the most recent research on this species.
O. abjecta vs. O. triacantha. Opuntia abjecta is strikingly different from O. triacantha in growth form, spine color and arrangement of spines, flower bud shape, flower color, and color of areolar trichomes and glochids. Opuntia abjecta is a small spreading-ascending shrub with basally disposed, radiating branches that reach up to 30 cm in height. Opuntia triacantha is a small, erect to semi-erect shrub generally with a central, semi-cylindrical trunk, much like that of other close relatives (i.e., O. caracassana, O. jamaicensis, O. repens), and reaches heights of up to 40 cm or more. The spines of O. abjecta are strongly retrorsely barbed like those of O. triacantha, but they are a lustrous, dark reddish-brown during development, instead of dull yellow as in O. triacantha. Spines of O. abjecta mature to bright white instead of a pale white color. The spines of both taxa become dark gray in age. Up to three spines are produced from the areoles of terminal cladodes of O. abjecta, and these are usually all in the same plane of symmetry (e.g., all spreading, all reflexed, etc.). Up to six spines can be produced from the areoles of terminal cladodes of O. triacantha, and they are in two planes of symmetry with the central spine typically divergent (porrect at ≥70° angle) from the lower spines produced, as in the closely related species, O. repens and O. caracassana. The spines of O. triacantha are also shorter on average than those of O. abjecta (3.7 cm vs. 4.4 cm). Opuntia abjecta has a rounded flower bud apex, while O. triacantha has an acute flower bud. Opuntia abjecta has entirely lemon-yellow inner tepals, while O. triacantha has sulfur-yellow inner tepals that are often tinged pink along the midrib. Tepals are obovate in O. abjecta with a rounded to emarginate apex and mucronate tip, and oblong to obovate in O. triacantha with a rounded apex, most commonly without a mucro. The areolar trichomes of O. triacantha are yellowish, while the areolar trichomes of O. abjecta are white. Opuntia abjecta has stramineous glochids on younger cladodes, while O. triacantha has bright yellow to yellow-orange glochids on younger cladodes. In general, O. abjecta may be differentiated from O. militaris by the same features used to distinguish it from the morphologically similar O. triacantha; however, as indicated in the next section, O. militaris and O. triacantha are also morphologically distinct. (See link below for citation.)
Prostrate, often growing in large irregular patches on almost bare limestone, irregularly branched; joints suborbicular, sometimes nearly subglobose, oval, or broadly obovate, mostly 4 to 8 cm. long, very thick, frequently turgid, light green, loosely attached to each other; leaves ovoid to conic-ovoid, 2 to 3 mm. long, ascending and slightly curved upward, green or purplish; glochids yellowish; spines setaceous-acicular, mostly solitary, brown, or reddish purple, mottled light and dark, becoming chalky gray when dry; the larger ones 2 to 6 cm. long; flowers usually solitary on a joint; berry urceolate, 1 to 1.5 cm. long, somewhat tuberculate, red or purple-red, rounded at base; umbilicus relatively broad, concave; seeds few, flattish, about 4 mm. wide.
On edge of hammock, southern end of Big Pine Key, Florida.
spines, and different fruit.