Cactus Buds in the Bright Sun

I don't think it's ideal to take pictures in the bright afternoon sun like this, but I couldn't resist giving it a whirl these sweet fat buds about to bust open.

Opuntia humifusa! I still say it like I mean it and am making an important point!

Opuntia! ☝ I still say it like I mean it and am making an important point!  Unfortunately in reality I am still mispronouncing it. I guess studying the botanical name for that ID test at Brooklyn Botanic while mispronouncing it (and pointing) really imprinted that mistake pretty deep in my mind. I think I was trying to associate pointy (like pointy cactus) with Opuntia, so I ended up with the hard t sound stuck in my mind instead of that crunchy, Cha Cha Cha punch sound, which is the correct pronunciation. 

Prickly Pears at Twilight

Perhaps it's fitting as we begin the first real heatwave of the year that I bumped into an army of Eastern Prickly Pears last night at twilight. Opuntia humifusa is one native plant in bloom now.

Opuntia, Say it Like You Mean It Even if You Mispronounce It

Opuntia humifusa at winter's end, Brooklyn Botanic

It was probably twenty years ago that I realized the Prickly Pear Cactus grew wild in southeastern New York. I can't remember exactly how I came to know this or exactly where I saw it growing, but it was only last year that I learned the botanical name of the species and saw it flowering. And I do remember exactly how I came to know the botanical name and flower. It was in the Herbaceaous ID class at Brooklyn Botanic.

Sometimes it takes a few seasons to come to know something and other times it takes many more. Here, Opuntia humifusa, a botanical name I actually love to say, (like so many botanical names I'm quite sure I mangle it but I say it like I mean it), over the seasons.















In bloom

Opuntia humifusa now, this fall, Brooklyn Botanic