Cactus flower in fleeting appearance

After church today we made our way to St. Andrews for a visit to the Botanical Gardens. The sun began to shine and it got a lot warmer.

I wanted to see the how far the flowers and shrubs had developed since my visit with JayDee in February. The grounds were excellent but I was drawn to the Glass houses in my quest for a blip. The desert section contained some beautiful specimens and this cactus flower of the Opuntia engelmannii Linguiformis was the most interesting.

It comes from South West America and Mexico and is ofter known as "cow's tongue cactus", "cow tongue prickly pear", or "desert prickly pear. The flowers are yellow, occasionally reddish, 5–8 cm in diameter and about as long. Flowering is in April and May, with each bloom lasting only one day, opening at about 8AM and closing 8 hours later. Pollinators include solitary bees, such as the Antophoridae, and sap beetles.

Apparently, the fruit, leaf pads, and seeds are all known to be edible. However, the little clusters of spines are slightly toxic so take care in handling the plant if you ever get one.

I took a few other photos, this time with their proper names, thanks to my wife, who scribbled them down on a little pad. If you would like to see them, head over to my Flikr set. I might have chosen any of them but this one seemed the most interesting.