Just Showing Off

I'm always impressed by the tiny lace cacti (Echinocereus reichenbachii) that grow on our property. The Wildflower Center has a nice entry about them.

When they are not in bloom they are hard to see because they don't grow taller than about 6 inches and they are easily hidden by the tall grass. Sometimes they grow in the poorest, rockiest soil where nothing else grows and then they're easily spotted. Sometimes they grow alone but usually they're in clumps.

Their little barrel-shaped bodies are quite beautiful - very regular and geometric. When small, they're almost spherical but they get taller and cylindrical as they get bigger. This one was growing in a wooded area among some rocks. It's only about 1 inch in diameter.

When in bloom, though, you can't miss them - that's why I call them show-offs. It's quite funny to see the tiniest cactus putting out a huge flower. I guess they really need to get noticed by the pollinators.

Here's a clump of five, with one of them in bloom. Do you see them all? The flower is attached to an arm growing out from the main body.

This is a single cactus that produced four flowers at once! A show-off among show-offs! The cactus body is barely visible in the center.