Flowers

The first flower of the season on my Devil’s Tongue Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus latispinus) has opened. I got this photo yesterday before the rabbits and/or other desert critters munched on it and a couple of the buds.

I think I have the binomial name for this species correct although many of the on-line references show purple or pink flowers. I have another, smaller, Devil’s Tongue Barrel that does get purple flowers in late summer or fall. This one, however, has always had yellow flowers in late spring or early summer.

This cactus followed us from California in a large terra cotta pot. We planted it in the ground and it seems to like it here, as do many of the cacti we brought with us.

Click on the image to enlarge. Don’t mind the little bugs on the petals because I’m not about to flick them off with all those sharp spikes down there.

Only about a week later than the first flowers from last year, my first red bird of paradise (a.k.a. Pride of Barbados) bud opened today. Of the three caesalpinia pulcherrima shrubs in the courtyard, this is the largest in spring growth. Two years ago, it was the retarded one with the others growing larger before it did. But they all grew and had flowers all summer long.

More 411 on the RBoP/PoB from Wikipedia:

Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. It could be native to the West Indies, but its exact origin is unknown due to widespread cultivation. Common names for this species include Poinciana, Peacock Flower, Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, Pride of Barbados, and flamboyant-de-jardin.

It is a shrub growing to 3 m tall. The leaves are bipinnate, 20–40 cm long,bearing 3-10 pairs of pinnae, each with 6-10 pairs of leaflets 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm broad. The flowers are borne in racemes up to 20 cm long, each flower with five yellow, orange or red petals. The fruit is a pod 6–12 cm long.

I didn’t put up a picture of the first saguaro flower on our “big guy” cactus because it was in an awkward place to photograph. Click on the the link to take you to a profile view of the first blossom which was directly behind the second-to-open flower bud when it was open.

In the view above, you can see the inside of the flower a little better. Click on the image to enlarge.

The big saguaro has dozens of flower buds, so we should be in business with many flowers to open over the next few weeks. I just love springtime in the desert!

For the second time this spring, our Argentine Giant Cactus (Echinopsis candicans) had two flowers open. They were out last night, but I waited to take this photo until this morning when they were fully open and the light was good.

This is a single stem cactus at present, but the species can spread out by producing more stems and can occupy a large area. In its present location, we can’t allow it to spread too much, so we will remove and replant other stems should they occur.

I’m not certain, but we may be getting a third bloom in a while since there seems to be another fuzzy patch that may develop into another flower. That would be nice. The flowers are are beautiful and fragrant. Click on the image to enlarge.