Wildflowers are waning but most cactus are now full of flower buds like this Buckhorn Cholla, for instance. New growth is so beautiful when backlit. The yellow you see in the background is Brittlebush.
Tag Archives: cactus
Queen of the Night
Seeing this cactus on a trail not far from my house was very exciting! The common name is Queen of the Night and I’ve only ever seen it at the Botanical Gardens. (Botanical name: Peniocereus greggii). The majority of the time, the cactus looks dead and can be easily mistaken for a dead branch so it’s no wonder they are rarely seen. Hope I can remember the location!
They only bloom once a year. Click here to see what it looks like.
Parting Shot
I’m hearing reports from all my photographer friends that poppies are showing up everywhere. Even this tiny Pincushion cactus (Mammillaria grahamii) is sporting new growth so Spring has definitely sprung! I’ll be out shooting as soon as I get back.
(no phone or internet for the next 10 days)
Echinocereus huascha
Tiny fuzzy balls are appearing on my Echinopsis huascha. Reminiscent of Cousin It from the Adams Family show, these are the beginnings of flower buds. Below is a photo from last year. Note the beginning stage at the front tip.
Carnegiea gigantea
Saguaro cactus seen from our guest room window.
Echinocactus grusonii
Commonly called Golden Barrel, these cactus have yellow spines that when viewed from a distance, make them look gold. If you haven’t guessed, I’m trying to learn botanical names for an upcoming exam. Posting them each day gets the name in my head 🙂