Does anybody know what plant this is?

For the last several years, at least more than a decade we have been trying to find out what the name of this plant is. We have even stumped the county extension, since I did send them pictures and they too guessed but none of the information was correct once gone to, and the nice elderly couple who originally gave it to us did not know the name either. It is in the cacti family but its thorns are not sharp and therefore do not hurt, its flowers are small star-shaped and purple velveteen in appearance, and it is a prolific reproducer.
To gain more all you have to do is stick a piece of it in dirt, and over the years we have shared many with friends and neighbors.
But not knowing what it is has always made its value not quite complete although an interesting unique attractive flora specimen it is somewhat mysterious.

Yes, what you’re seeing is a Manatee in our own backyard saltwater canal. On this particular day it was a cow and her two calves. That’s why I so love living here, wildlife abound. We have had stingrays and even a dolphin, but my least favorite is the one below.

Yep, that’s an alligator, not a crocodile, across from our dock on the other side of the canal, odd in saltwater, but not really, just not so many, so often. They have very nasty reputations for grabbing, drowning then eating whatever they can reach!
So we all know better than to feed them to make pets out of them, in fact all wildlife should be just to look at not to domesticate, but you all knew that I am sure.

Some wildlife that people fear is above, but in actuality they are not all bad this is a black racer or rat snake and that is a water dwellers friend, since it does just as the name states eats rodents, thus the sign that Hubby and I made, he cut the wood and stake and I decoupage and painted it. He did those arrows in the background for our own round-a-bout that goes around our Honey Tangerine tree, which oddly enough I have just found out that that type of tangerine is a great aid in losing weight, how about that?
It is a young tree, only three years old now and hasn’t to date been a very large producer but this year it does appear to have quite a few youngins on it so we are hopeful!

This PIC speaks for itself and this is what paradise is all about, and that is why I am proud to call this home

On that little bit of ‘I bet you didn’t know’, information allow me to be the first to wish you a very happy good night and to ask you to kindly count all those blessings and to share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear?