Hello Cactus Friends,
after a long pause I can show a few more digital images of flowering cacti. The rains we did have not too long ago, breathed new life into the plants, which in some cases responded by flowering again. Others would have bloomed anyway.
During the last 10 days Astrophytum asterias, Echinocereus reichenbachii, Echinopsis eyriesii, Ferocactus hamatacanthus, Mammillaria grahamii, and Thelocactus bicolor did bloom. I already posted images of these plants and will not show them once more.
One of the larger-bodied plants, of which I have more than a half dozen specimens, did flower again also. It sometimes blooms only one time, other times it flowers repeatedly, usually after a rainfall. It is the Chihuahua Desert native Echinocactus horizonthalonius, a common cactus found where I live.
- Echinocac_horizonthalonius8.JPG (123.08 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
Another plant, which is encountered here in the wild is Escobaria tuberculosa. It too is a repeat bloomer.
- Esc_tuberculosa12.JPG (148.93 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
- Esc_tuberculosa15.JPG (122.39 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
A cactus, which I have not shown thus far this year is my Obregonia denegrii. I purchased the plant a year ago from Miles-2-Go and it did survive the cold spell on Valentines Day, albeit in a pot. I did have one of these plants in the past, but it succumbed to cold and moist growing conditions, because it was planted in the ground in regular soil.
- Obregonia denegrii4.JPG (90.66 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
- Obregonia denegrii6.JPG (91.31 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
Now I shall present a few Turbinicarpus species, which did flower this year. The first one is Turbinicarpus gielsdorfianus. Last year, I did post images of this plant also, but was not sure about the species name.
- Turbi_gielsdorfianus1.JPG (88.12 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
- Turbi_gielsdorfianus3.JPG (109.1 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
The next Turbinicarpus is Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus ssp. klinkerianus. This one did have either a second or third flowering spurt this year.
- Turbi_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus10.JPG (98.95 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
- Turbi_schmiedickeanus ssp klinkerianus13.JPG (100 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
The last one for now is the Turbinicarpus swobodae. I was not sure about the species name and e-mailed Mr. Miles Anderson. He gratiously identified the plant for me and told me, that it is the only species within that genus, which is self-fertile.
The plant produces the smallest of all the Turbinicarpus flowers that I have yet to see. It is easily overlooked. I needed to use the super macro setting on my camera, almost touching the flower, in order to obtain a halfway decent image.
Harald
- Turbinicarpus swobodae1.JPG (106.62 KiB) Viewed 20986 times
- Turbinicarpus swobodae2.JPG (98.41 KiB) Viewed 20986 times