Friday, May 18, 2007

The Many Colours of Prickly Pear

Early morning walks find prickly pear blossoms still closed up from the night, so a couple of days ago I braved a later morning walk in >100 degrees Fahrenheit temperature to photograph some of the Prickly Pear Cacti (genus Opuntia) growing in the neighbourhood. Some are growing wild; many are in nearby gardens. There is quite a range of colours - even on the same plant.

19 comments:

Peacechick Mary said...

Lovely, just lovely. Did I tell you that I get some great desktop backgrounds from your site and then I can enjoy the photos you take every day. Thank you so much for these.

Pam in Tucson said...

pc mary - I'm honoured. How lovely to think that my photos grace your desktop in Florida.

Cathy said...

Oh. Stunning.

Taradharma said...

gorgeous blossoms and photos of blossoms, Pam. I'm going to have to web search how to propagate these beauties!

Kerri said...

I'm so grateful that blogging allows me to see all the wonderful things I would otherwise miss. Your photos are superb!
Thanks so much for sharing them.
I didn't know cactus could be so beautiful!
What do you set your camera on for those bright morning sun pics?
Those last 2 closeups are especially gorgeous!

Rain Trueax said...

beautiful pictures. I have missed seeing the cactus bloom the last two years and am glad to get them at least through your photos.

Zinger said...

beautiful pics
when i was a kid i used to pick the fruit off the prickly pear and eat it right there - always got lots of little thorns in my fingers peeling it but it was worth it :-)

thanks for keeping a little bit of tucson in my so cali life... i loved that town!
carri ann
aka archi's mum

kerrdelune said...

Pam, I love prickly pear blooms and so wish the prickly pear grew here in the north. It would be a rare treat to watch them flower.

Ava said...

Beautiful pictures! Thank you so much for sharing them with us.

Lené Gary said...

The photographs are awesome, Pam. What's the texture of a cacti petal like? Is it waxier than other plants? The photos make it look almost waterproof.

Cyn Bagley said...

Beautiful pics. I love 'em.

Taradharma said...

Pam, I miss you!

In a desperate attempt to lure you back into blogging, I've tagged you! Ck my blog if you want, if not, no worries, I just hope you are well.

Jetti said...

haven't seen any of your entries for a while - hope you are okay. Miss the cool photos.

JLLove said...

Thank you for taking the later hotter walk. You shots are wonderful!

joared said...

What colorful photos of cacti, reminding me of AZ years and the desert. I enjoyed the Botanical Garden next to the Phoenix Zoo. The year before we moved I was thrilled to have my backyard night blooming cereus bloom, but the masses of them in your previous photo are just spectacular.

Mario Samano said...

I just arrived to this city three weeks ago and I already like the nature I found here, much more than I had thought.

Cyn Bagley said...

Lovely...

Anonymous said...

Where have you gone Pam?? I keep check back for a new post in vain.

Sky said...

the photos here are just beautiful! looks like you are no longer blogging, but i hope you'll know how much i enjoyed them.