Claret Cup is a photograph by Inge Johnsson which was uploaded on January 4th, 2012.
Title
Claret Cup
Artist
Inge Johnsson
Medium
Photograph - Digital Scan, Watermark Not On Actual Print
Description
Claret cup cactus on Enchanted Rock in the Texas Hill Country.
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Echinocereus triglochidiatus is a species of hedgehog cactus known by several common names, including Kingcup cactus, Claretcup, and Mojave mound cactus. This cactus is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it is a resident of varied habitats from low desert to rocky slopes, scrub, and mountain woodland. It is most abundant in shady areas.
There are a number of varieties of this highly variable cactus species, but not all are universally recognized. In general it is a mounding cactus, forming bulbous piles of few to hundreds of spherical to cylindrical stems. It is densely spiny and somewhat woolly. The showy flower is a funnel shaped bloom up to 8 or 9 centimeters wide and bright scarlet red to orange-red tepals. There is a thick nectar chamber and many thready pink stamens at the center of the corolla. The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.
One variety, var. arizonicus, is federally listed as an endangered species in the United States. It is limited to the intersection of Arizona and New Mexico in the United States with Mexico. This variety is sometimes included within Echinocereus coccineus.
Uploaded
January 4th, 2012
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Comments (38)
Judi Dressler
Congrats on your 2nd place win in the Desert Flora contest, Inge, for this beautiful photograph!
Larry Kniskern
Congratulations, Inge – your stunning scene finished second place in the Go Take a Hike Photography Group’s Desert Flora photo contest! It will be placed on the group homepage as a special feature for the week, as well in the Contest Winners thread in the group discussion board for archive.