Richard Shattuck
The Winner!
I saw lots of cactus and other wildflowers in Big Bend National Park, but my favorite was the claret cup.
By itself, the cactus would be pretty boring... even for a cactus. It seems to me that it's a dull green with an uninteresting shape, less photogenic than a prickly pear or saguaro.
But those flowers are stunning... to me, anyway.
They're not that easy to find in Big Bend, as the claret cup (Echinocereus coccineus, for those who care) doesn't grow on the floor of the Chihuahuan Desert, but rather much higher, mainly in the Chisos Mountains.
One of the reasons I hiked the Lost Mine Trail was because I hoped to find this cactus in bloom. I did see a couple of them along the trail but they were shaded and not nearly as brilliant.
Luckily, these were out in the open (still under a cloudy sky however); seen on a slope at the end of the trail. Lost Mine is a great hike in any event, but this find made it a complete success for me.
The Winner!
I saw lots of cactus and other wildflowers in Big Bend National Park, but my favorite was the claret cup.
By itself, the cactus would be pretty boring... even for a cactus. It seems to me that it's a dull green with an uninteresting shape, less photogenic than a prickly pear or saguaro.
But those flowers are stunning... to me, anyway.
They're not that easy to find in Big Bend, as the claret cup (Echinocereus coccineus, for those who care) doesn't grow on the floor of the Chihuahuan Desert, but rather much higher, mainly in the Chisos Mountains.
One of the reasons I hiked the Lost Mine Trail was because I hoped to find this cactus in bloom. I did see a couple of them along the trail but they were shaded and not nearly as brilliant.
Luckily, these were out in the open (still under a cloudy sky however); seen on a slope at the end of the trail. Lost Mine is a great hike in any event, but this find made it a complete success for me.