Tiny miracle – a beautiful pink cactus flower with ants crawling over it for good measure

What do you think, cactus face or cactus pizza?

Beautiful small pink and orange flowers, captured in Sacramento, CA

Cactus cupcakes, anyone?

A shining star among the cactus flowers

A field of cacti or cactus soldiers?

A bit of yellow in a sea of cactus “wool” – a true winner, taken in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 4,000 m

How anything so prickly and uninviting as a cactus can produce something as delicate and beautiful as a cactus flower seems a miracle. But then again, don’t we all hide our most sensitive qualities under a prickly exterior sometimes?

Many cactus flowers are night blooming as they get pollinated by nocturnal insects like moths or small animals like bats. Depending on the cactus species, the flower shapes can be tube-like, bell-like or wheel-shaped. Sizes range from one fifth of a centimetre to 15-30 cm.

Except for the Rhipsalis baccifera cactus species that can be found across the tropics of the world, cacti are prevalent in the Americas but with their growing popularity, have been imported all over the world. Among the most common and well-known are Prickly Pears, Barrel cacti, Saguaro cacti (featuring in most Western films), Aztekium cacti, and Echinopsis a.k.a. the hedgehog cactus that can be found as house plants on many window sills.

Today, we’d like to take a look at a plant that is especially close to our, er, hearts – the cactus! The following pictures will prove that this prickly green friend can be quite a source of amusement.

First, let us introduce the species with a little help from Wikipedia “Cacti are distinctive and unusual plants (you bet), which are adapted to extremely arid and hot environments (absolutely), showing a wide range of anatomical and physiological features (ah-huh, we’re listening) which conserve water. Their stems have adapted to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have become the spines

This red cactus is apparently common in Yucatan and even said to have, er, enhancing properties if boiled and eaten as a soup. Right…

he next specimen belongs to the Cephalocereus gaumeri species and is often referred to as “old man” cactus, because of the white wool on top looking like long white hairs – not what you’re thinking. The limp things hanging down from the cactus fruits are flower remains. Maybe it’s not a cactus man after all?