Thanks for the link.
I live in east central Florida near the Atlantic coast. There used to be many homes around town that had large ficus-type Opuntias in their landscaping when I was a kid. But now that I want to start a patch of my own, I cannot find a one. It's like they have been aducted by aliens or something. Nobody likes them any more I guess. And I don't know why. They are visionally intriguing, adding a sense of architecture to the scene, and they are virtually care free, requiring little if any maintainance. Plus they are edible!
I would love to trade with you, except I do not have much to trade. I have only recently begun to collect again. The only cacti I have at present is a small locally native specie of Opuntia called Opuntia humifusa (I might be able to find one in the brush around here I could send to you, if you really want one) and something I bought at Wal-mart the other day. I think it is a species of Opuntia. It has long, upright, cylindrical sections with little or no spines. But both are quite small, it may be a year or more before they grow enough to take a section. In the meantime maybe I could just send you the shipping and you could send me a couple of pads. Is cladodes the scientific name for Opuntia pads?
Mark