Monday, May 4, 2009

Don't blink- you might miss it!

I have been waiting on this little cactus for weeks now, trying to catch it in full bloom. The first two blooms opened partway but I never caught them fully open. I was beginning to think this second round of blooms would elude me too, but yesterday, for a short time, they almost made it. If you look closely you will see that the stamens remain coiled up- if they came open too I missed it. I snapped these pictures and the next time I checked an hour or so later they were already on their way to closing back up. This is a Gymnocalycium stenopleurum.


Closing up again-

For other prickly pretties please visit Teri's Painted Daisies and join in with Cactus Monday.

11 comments:

Debra Kay said...

How fleeting is beauty.....love it that you saw it and caught it for us to see!

Diane AZ said...

Pretty color on those blossoms. Even with the stamens coiled up they look really gorgeous. Good thing you took the photos when you did!

Lynn Cohen said...

Wow so pretty.

Deepa Gopal said...

Wonderful shots...very pretty colors.

HCM!

Aiyana said...

I like to watch the Gymno floers change color over the course of several days. These are beautiful!
Aiyana

marianne said...

Beautiful blossoms!
HCM!

Phoenix C. said...

How beautiful and fragile looking! There is something so breath-taking about waiting for flowers to open, and then seeing them!

Deborah Godin said...

Pretty little flowers - they better stay open for business long enough to get polinated!!

Deb said...

love the butterflies...love your new header

Nancy in Sun Lakes AZ said...

I seem to have the same frustration with gymnos. The buds come along nicely, but often they do not open fully. I wonder why this happens.
I love your new header too!

Julie said...

What beautifully colored blooms, eh? Very nice. I like how the blooms come out on stalks! Happy Cactus Monday!