Cactus Flower Season
(click on photo to enlarge)
Now that the spring wildflowers are on the wane, it’s time for the cacti to burst out in exquisite bloom. The beavertails and chollas (Opuntia spp.), laden with buds, are full of promise but the smaller hedgehogs and pincushions have already produced some spectacular flowers. I purchased this Claret Cup (Echinocereus triglochidiatus) a few weeks ago when we were up in Phoenix. I can’t go to Phoenix without a trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum in nearby Superior and it just so happened they were having their plant sale at that time. There was a single bud on this plant and it opened this week. There’s no denying that these prickly members of the plant kingdom produce flowers of breathtaking and fragile beauty.
Claret Cup Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus)
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