Flowers

I bought this cactus at Basha’s a few weeks ago because it looked nice. It has been living on the patio since then and last week a flower bud appeared. It opened last night and produced this beautiful flower seen in the images above and below.

We weren’t sure about the cactus variety, so I uploaded the photo just above to Grok AI which said it is likely an Easter Lily Cactus.

From Grok:

It looks like an Echinopsis species, probably something like Echinopsis oxygona (Easter Lily Cactus) or a close hybrid/relative. These are popular houseplants or garden cacti known for their large, showy white (sometimes pink-tinged) flowers that often bloom at night or in the evening and last about a day.

Key matching features from the photo:

• The flower: Large, multi-petaled white bloom with a yellowish-green center and many slender petals radiating out.
• The stem/peduncle: Long, fuzzy/hairy green tube supporting the flower (a hallmark of many Echinopsis blooms).
• The body: Ribbed, globular-to-columnar green cactus with prominent areoles (the white spots where spines emerge).

Why this identification fits
Echinopsis (formerly often lumped with Trichocereus) are South American cacti common in nurseries and big-box stores like Bashas’ (a grocery chain in Arizona). They match the “night-blooming” or short-lived fragrant white flowers on woolly stems perfectly.

The flower was open this morning, and by late afternoon it had closed and the stem was slumped over. So, we will assume that this is indeed an Easter Lily Cactus. Click on either image to enlarge.

I mentioned in a previous post that it would only be a matter of time before one of the east-facing saguaro flowers opened up to reveal the interior of the bloom. We had been getting side views and not top views. Today. several of the buds were open and this east facing one was perfect for capturing the interior view of the flower. Click to view enlarged.

UPDATE 2026-06-06: More open flowers for your enjoyment. And for a couple of bees, too.

UPDATE 2026-06-07: Sunday’s Flower Pair.

We have already had a couple buds open on the big Saguaro out front, but this nice example was open today on the smaller cactus across the yard from the big one. Since the cacti are so tall, and the flowers generally are facing upwards, it’s sort of hard to get a full top view of the flowers. Fortunately, some of the buds on the side of this cactus are facing east, and I might be able to get a face-on shot when some of them open. Stay tuned.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Once again it is fall in the desert and with it comes the beautiful flowers on our Devil’s Tongue Barrel Cactus. This trio, along with several others, was open today after a nice rainfall yesterday. Click on the image to enlarge.

Ferocactus latispinus is the binomial nomenclature for what is commonly called the Devil’s Tongue cactus. Wikipedia offers the following information about this cactus:

Ferocactus latispinus is a species of barrel cactus native to Mexico. It grows as a single globular light green cactus reaching the dimensions of 30 cm (12 in) in height and 40 cm (16 in) across, with 21 acute ribs. Its spines range from reddish to white in color and are flattened and reach 4 or 5 cm long. Flowering is in late autumn or early winter. The funnel-shaped flowers are purplish or yellowish and reach 4 cm long, and are followed by oval-shaped scaled fruit which reach 2.5 cm (1 in) long.