What do you think of when you hear the word cactus? Most people would immediately think of the green thorny dessert plants. Well, it most only half true. Some of the members of the cactus family can bear flowers. There are actually various cactus flowers. Therefore, although they may be thorny, but they are also beautiful. The cactus family is also called the Cacteceae.
They are known to be the plants with many stamens in the centers. The flowers are usually produced during the hot days, while in the other time of the year when the rainfall is heavy, they remain in their thorny and uninviting look. Although there are so many different species of cacti, around 1000 to 2000 varieties of cacti, but here are the list of varieties with the best cactus flower.
1. Prickly Pear
This may be one of the most popular cactus in the Mexico because not only that the fruit is edible, but it is believed to be able to cure different diseases. But of course if you want to take out the fruit, you will have to carefully avoid the prickly thorns. The prickly pear belongs to the Opuntia genus. Most of their flowers are yellow but there are also other colors such as orange, pink, white and red.
2. Saguaro
The Sanguaro is usually found in the Sonoran Desert. This plant blooms when it is almost summer of at the end of spring. The Saguaro flowers are white and they open at nights. Because of this fact, they are able to attract the doves who would be able to help with the pollination process. When the time is closing to noon the next day, the flower then closes. When you see lots of flowers, you will see that not all of them will bloom at night. Only few of them will open white the rest stay close. After the flowers are pollinated, they become fleshy fruits and these fruits are to be come the next Saguaro seeds.
3. Night Blooming Cereus
The plants belong to the botanical genus Peniocereus, Cereus and Hylocereus. All of them can be called the Night Blooming Cereus. They have another nickname that is “Queen of the Night.” They have long stems and these stems ramble over tree limbs and also rocks. They have white flowers and similarly to the Saguaro, the flowers bloom when the night is at the darkest. However, they close by dawn the next day and not at noon.
