Morning Blooming Cactus is a photograph by Robert Bales which was uploaded on March 21st, 2014.
Morning Blooming Cactus
The Argentine Giant (aka Easter Lily Cactus) is known for its sprawling stems that originate from a central point. But its better known for the giant... more
by Robert Bales
Title
Morning Blooming Cactus
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
The Argentine Giant (aka Easter Lily Cactus) is known for its sprawling stems that originate from a central point. But its better known for the giant flowers, measuring up to 8 inches across, that it gets: Unfortunately, these flowers only last about 1 day, opening at night. If the weather is hot, as it was the day I shot the above photo, they start to wilt by mid-morning. And the one-day duration really worked against me. With a new baby at the house I was not able to get out in time to take a photo while the morning light was nice, leaving me with the harshly lit snapshot above.
A columnar cactus with each stem fast growing up to 4 inches wide, 3 feet tall, and clumping 6 - 7 feet wide. Most books say that they only clump to about 3 feet but as you can see from the top photo, the plants can spread to about 7 feet.
It's fragrant blooms normally open at night and persist until early morning. The bright white petals and yellow centers attract night pollinators such as, moths and bats.
While it is said to be a nocturnal blooming cactus with the flowers closing at early morning. On cool, cloudy days in Arizona; the flowers continue blooming during the day.
Uploaded
March 21st, 2014
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Comments (48)
Don Columbus
Congratulations Robert, your work is Featured in "Photographic Camera Art" I invite you to place it in the group's "2019 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!! L/Tweet!
Linda Phelps
F/L The lighting in this one sets off this cactus flower nicely. Excellent composition and detail. Like the warm tones.