Cactus Bloom and Pollinator
Blooms are numerous on our cactus this Spring! This gorgeous orangy-red specimen is another of the non-natives in my yard. Capturing a fast moving native bee is always a bonus!
Posts from the ‘Flora’ Category
May 4
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May 2
Green Flowers
Teddybear Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii) are described as having green flowers but when fully open, the color is mostly cream. This particular cactus is in my yard and is loaded with dozens of blooms at the moment. Canon 24-70mm at f/5.
May 1
Prickly Poppy and Beetle
We had very few Prickly Poppies in the Preserve this year but I did see a few out at Brown’s Ranch. This one had a Blister Beetle who was was moving out to start chomping on the petals.
Apr 30
Salmon Prickly Pear
Javelina LOVE non-native cactus so in years past, this poor Prickly Pear has not been allowed to fully bloom. But Javelina Cafe is now closed so all my non-natives finally have a chance to show off and they are making up for lost time. Besides what you see here, there are at least 25 more buds waiting to open on this Prickly Pear! I had fun photographing the blooms with various lenses yesterday. I couldn’t decide on just one image so here is a collage.
Apr 28
A Sweet Volunteer
In gardening and botanical terminology, a volunteer is a plant that grows on its own rather than being deliberately planted. This volunteer is called Sweetbush (Bebbia juncea) and it’s one of my favorites. First because it’s a very drought tolerant native but mostly because it has curly stamens 🙂 I used Photoshop to convert to Black and White.
Apr 23
Sedona Flora
A quick shot of a plant near our campground. I think it might be Ground Cherry but I sent a request for ID to my botanist friend Steve for confirmation. Whatever it is, I always try to get a better shot of it than I did last time. I like the dead grasses in the background. Update from Steve…it’s not Ground Cherry. It’s probaby a Nightshade which is poisonous. Still a fun photo op 🙂
Apr 22
Echinopsis candicans
Some members of my digital club joined me at the Desert Botanical Garden yesterday morning. There were plenty of blooms including many species of Echinopsis such as this candicans (aka Argentine Giant). I love the underside of these beauties so I got down low and lined them up with a blooming Palo Verde. I used a wide aperture so the background would go nice and soft. Canon 70-200mm @182mm, ISO 400, 1/640th sec at f/4.
Apr 21
Torch
Two blooms opened yesterday on my Torch cactus. An apropos common name for this gorgeous cactus. More blooms to come, I hope!
