Hi Gang, I've posted images of an undescribed Opuntia species from north-central New Mexico. Maybe it's just a variation on something already known. Dave Ferguson at the Rio Grande Botanic Garden (Albuquerque, NM) pointed this plant out to me; he's my Opuntia guru. It is a small plant (blooming size plants are 8-18 inches across) with a central tap root-like arrangment that becomes an enlarged storage organ (turnip like). It has pretty flowers and it grows fine here in the greater Houston, TX area event though it is normally grows at 6,500 or 7,000 ft. elevation. It's not rare but it's a prickly pear and so mostly unloved and unnoticed. Link: Opuntia "SantaFe" http://www.opuntiads.com/html/opuntia-santafe.html Cordially, Joe Conroe TX (where spring is unusually long and wonderful this year).