My Echinocereus fendleri flowered a few months back, this was the first year I have gotten flowers on it. And a pretty amazing one at that, a second bud was forming as well that opened in to a second flower. The pink petals look so fragile, and the base of the stem is covered in cactus spines.
 Camera Model | Lumix GH3 |
|---|---|
 Lens | Olympus MSC ED M. 60mm Macro lens |
 Filter | none |
 Aperture | f/9 |
 Shutter Speed | 1/200 sec |
 Film Speed | 1250 |
 Spectrum | Visual Light |
 Wavelength | 380 through 700 nanometers |
 Location | North Georgia USA. |
The first day they opened it was only a little bit, the petals stayed tightly wrapped.
But with each day passing, the flower opened up more and started showing off the pollen inside.
This flower will only last a few days. So the cactus has good defenses for it during that time. I had to be careful not to get my camera too close.
A second bud can be seen forming, it opened a few days after the first flower was in full bloom.
During the evenings the flower closes back up and then reopens when the first light comes over the tree canopies.
The next morning on day three we saw the petals fully extend and the flower was open for all to see.
As the first flower was entering full bloom, the second bud was starting to show signs of life and was starting to unfurl.
Amazing to see such a large flower on such a small little plant.
The edges of the flower look jagged, something I did not notice until it fully opened.
I have a stick behind it as it seems to droop over sometimes. With it leaning against the stick it seems to stand up better.
Looking up at the flower from underneath, we can see the sky and how transparent the petals are.
Seems that the petals at the base are a little different from the more inner flower petals. Maybe those green strands help to hold the flower closed at night or when its done being pollenated all together.
With the flower fully open now we can really get deep inside and check out the pollen and stamens.
Looks like alot of pollen is in there ready to be collected by insects visiting the flowers, but honestly I did not see any animals being birds or bugs checking out the flowers. Though maybe they did while I was not looking.
From the side we can see how hairs are at the base of the flower with little pollen sacs at the tip ready for collection. I wonder what I would get if it was successfully pollenated. fruit? seeds? both?
As the flower aged over the next few days, it closed up and withered away. But I got to next flower open and go through the same process over again. Looking forward to next year where I can get even more flowers and hopefully some fruit one day from my cactus. I doubt I will get it from this cactus any time soon, but maybe in a few years it will grow strong enough to provide me with some yummy fruit.
Links to more details about this cactus:
https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/cactus/echfen/all.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinocereus_fendleri
https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailCactus.php?genus=Echinocereus&species=fendleri
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