Verna and Bob's Weblog

Three Echinopsis cactus flowers probably appeared in the wee hours during the night. When I went out on the patio an hour after I took the photo this afternoon, the flowers were all wilted. Given such a short open period, it’s a good thing I managed to capture this photo today.

Click on the image to enlarge.

According to Wikipedia:

Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog, sea-urchin or Easter lily cactus. One small species, E. chamaecereus, is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti. The name derives from echinos hedgehog or sea urchin, and opsis appearance, a reference to these plants’ dense coverings of spines.

This particular variety of echinopsis only grows to a height of six inches (15 cm).

There are several Palo Verde trees growing on our lot in Arizona. One of them, along the road, was home to a tiny Verdin making her nest there when we visited in June.

In May of 2009, we were in Arizona at the National Rifle Association convention. We drove a rented motorhome to Phoenix and camped in an RV park a few miles from the convention center. There were several Palo Verde trees in the RV park. This one, near the dog run, had low hanging branches so I was able to get a close up of the tiny flowers that come in the spring. Click on the image to enlarge.