Echinocereus dasyacanthus

Interesting flower color variation of E.dasyacanthus at Antony Gap near New Mexico - Texas border.

Echinocactus polycephalus

These magnificent plants can only be seen in the wild. They are slow growing and take decades to reach maturity, making raising them from seeds an unpractical if not impossible task for amateur. The large multiheaded plants are hundreds of years old.

Sclerocactus polyancistrus

Sclerocactus parviflorus

Another Sclero parviflorus, photographed just North of Ship Rock, NM. This species is common around the large territory of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Despite been fairly uniform in appearance, those plants were given a large number of different names.

Echinocereus hybrid

This is one of the many natural hybrids, with parents been E.coccineus and E.dasyacanthus.

Echinocereus viridiflorus

Echinocereus viridiflorus becomes common plant once you cross from Arizona into New Mexico. They have green or rusty colored flowers, small and barely opening up. Small plants look pretty neat.

Mammillaria tetrancistra

April it the fruiting season for Mammillaria tetrancistra.

Opuntia sp

Opuntia from the hills near Arizona-New Mexico border. This is a low-growing plant with long black spines and remarkable flowers. It could have been of great interest for growers, if only Opuntias were more popular plants.

Echinocereus coccineus

This picture is taken in the pine forest near Albuquerque, NM, at elevation of 2000m. Plants of E.coccineus are growing there in shady location and develop reduced spines, but the clumps are low and compact - a local adaptation that helps these plants withstand the winter frost, covered under snow.

Sclerocactus parviflorus

This is a large clump growing in the hills not far from Pipe Springs NP in Northern Arizona. This species grows on a large area, and despite the aura of cryptic and rare plant it is actually fairly common and easy to spot - or often hard to miss - within it's range.

Opuntia sp.

Probably O.phaeacantha, in House Rock Valley, AZ