Friday Flowers

[ellarien]

It's been a better week for photography than I was expecting. First there was the saguaro fruit, green on the outside, revealing its red insides where the birds have pecked their way in, and the solitary red barrel cactus bloom.

Then there was the night-flowering cereus, which yesterday evening was showing promising buds. I did it; I set my alarm for 4.30 this morning, and caught the first bus of the day, arriving at the office soon after 6am. I dropped off my bag and headed for the corner, camera in hand, and there they were; two amazing blooms, seven or eight inches across, fragile and airy concoctions of creamy-white petals accented by the red-tinged bud-casings. By noon, they'd folded themselves away. I'd love to see time-lapse video of such a thing; I wonder if that might be out there somewhere on the web.

	Saguaro Fruit, June 2005 Pecked open by birds to reveal the sweet red flesh inside.
	Barrel Cactus Flower, June 2005 A little ahead of its peers, apparently; I've seen buds elsewhere, but only this one open bloom.
	Night-flowering cereus bud 6.30 pm, 9th June 2005
	Night-flowering Cereus Flower 6.15 am, 10th June 2005
	Night-flowering Cereus Flower Side View
	Night-flowering Cereus 12 noon, 10th June 2005