''Opuntia abjecta'' is a

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

found growing in the Florida Keys. Currently it is Listed as critically endangered by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

Description

''O. abjecta'' grows up to 15 (occasionally 25) cm tall on humus over limestone or even on bare limestone. Cladodes are typically 2.5 cm long by 4–5 cm long. The cladodes do not shatter, but do de-attach from each other with some ease. ''O. abjecta'' is a small plant with radiating branches, a subshrub. Retorse, barbed spines are reddish-brown as they develop and turn pale white as they mature. up to 3 spines are produced by terminal cladodes. Generally, the spines of ''O. abjecta'' are shorter than 4 cm. The flower bud of ''O. abjecta'' is rounded. ''O. abjecta'' has teardrop-shaped leaves. The seeds are about 4 mm in diameter.

Phylogeny

''O. abjecta'' was mistakenly conflated with ''O. triacantha''. Recent work shows that the two taxa are distinct. In addition to morphological and

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

differences, ''O. triacantha'' occurs in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, whereas ''O. abjecta'' occurs in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

References

External links

''Opuntia abjecta'' original description, retrieved June 27, 2017''Opuntia abjecta'' photo gallery at Opuntia Web
{{Taxonbar, from=Q41793127 abjecta