Sunday, September 23, 2007

Gymnocalycium baldianum

Gymnocalycium baldianum


Around noon each day from late April to early October, the flowers on my G. baldianum open up wide and then close up for the evening, only to reopen the next day. The flowers last several days to a week, and then more buds are ready to take over. I've written about this cactus twice before, once to describe its perilous past, and then again to describe its amazing flowering capacity. Since this is the only cactus in my garden to have flowers this week, I thought it deserved another post.


The genus name, Gymnocalycium, is a combination of two Greek words: Gymnom, meaning naked or hairless, and Calyx, meaning goblet. The genus is so named because the flower buds do not have any little hairs or spines as some cacti present. As you can see from the photo below, the bud is velvety soft and smooth. This photo was taken in the morning, and this bud opened that same afternoon. Close up, I think the buds are quite beautiful.




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20 comments:

verobirdie said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
This cactus does deserve a post indeed. Lovely flowers.
Why are morning glory illegal in your area?

Aiyana said...

verobirdie,
re your question on morning glories; they are considered an invasive species here because they can get into cotton fields and choke out the cotton plants. You can't buy seeds locally, nor will any seed company send seeds into Arizona.

Anonymous said...

How interesting that they open and close in the same day. A pretty bloom.
Sara from farmingfriends

Anonymous said...

amazing! i havent know about this thanks for the interesting post

Alice said...

Those flowers are so beautiful. I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing a whole new range of plants through your wonderful photos and intersting posts.

Jean said...

The bud is beautiful and so is the bloom! Very interesting plant.

Anonymous said...

The pink cactus flowers at the top looks lovely - the one at the bottom looks out of the world.

Anonymous said...

Those buds are pretty spectacular, as are the blooms -- really interesting post!

Mark said...

Hi Aiyana,

There is definately something lizardy about the flower before it opens.

Cheers Mark

Anonymous said...

Beautiful plant! Gorgeous blooms!

Anonymous said...

Your cacti are so interesting to see since I have nothing like them in my garden, though with the dry summer we had they would have done well here, lol. I like the bud too!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful flowers - surprising that they belong to a cactus. They are good value with such a long flowering season!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that was really a beautifu one, so very simple but yet so complicated too. Beautiful!

Muum said...

the flower's color is beautiful. I always enjoy your photos and learn something from your posts.

Deb @ Sugarfused said...

I really have enjoyed learning about your catci and this particular flower is especially lovely :)

My GTS is up, too..come check it out when you get a chance. Hope you've had a nice weekend!

Whyite said...

It's Amazing how many Cati you have. This one is just beautiful. Such a neat looking flower bud.

Julie said...

Wow...this is a soft, sweet flower...and amazingly wonderful cactus, I would say! Wish I had one...I need to move!!! LOL
Julie

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

The flowers look so soft and delicate against the spikes. Very pretty flowers. :-)

kate said...

It truly is a cactus with nine lives! That the flowers open and close only to reopen the next day makes it one that does stand out. The flowers are beautiful.