Sunday, April 8, 2007

The cacti are blooming!

I went back up to Pima Canyon (of course!) yesterday. The cacti are blooming -- yay!


I gather this little lady is called Mammillaria because it bleeds white (like milk) if cut.














Prickley pear -- I didn't even know they were yellow.













Not a cactus, but cool nonetheless. Larkspur, right?











Happy Easter, everyone!

5 comments:

Tucson Trekker said...

So is it completely incorrect to say 'cactusses?' I don't know why, but I have an aversion to the word 'cacti.'

Sparkling Squirrel said...

"Cactuses" (one s) is completely acceptable, although I am fond of cacti myself (and make other such plurals like "croci"). Prickly pear are in genus Opuntia (which includes the chollas as well) and bloom in a wide range of colors (well, yellows and magentas).

Molly said...

Beautiful! I am so glad to get to vicariously experience Arizona springtime... thanks, Anna :)

Beth said...

i like seeing flowers - we saw snow earlier in the week. those are very pretty

Tucson Trekker said...

I have now nicknamed the Mammillaria "mysterious Mammillaria." They were blooming up a storm on Saturday before Easter, with many unopened buds comming also. On Wednesday after Easter (when I went there with Cathy and Erin) not only were they no longer blooming but there was absolutely no sign that they had ever bloomed. No fruits, no dead blossoms, not even any noticeable scars where the blossoms had been. If I didn't have pictures to prove it, I would start wondering if I imagined their beautiful flowers. What's the point of blooming if you don't have some kind of fruit? They can't have finished blooming, fruited, and lost their fruits in 3 days! I'll have to look them up...