Mini Cactus Redux

Its flower fully sprouted overnight! And there are a few more buds growing as well. I discovered that my cactus is not naturally-occuring: it's a hybrid species of Echinopsis chamaecereus, named "Pauline." Up until the 1970s and 1980s Chamaecereus was a separate genus, but new taxonomical research grouped them together.

I am particularly happy with this purchase because the genus is native only to South America, where it grows on the hills and rock crevices of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Mini Cactus

That I bought at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. It was nearly stolen away by a small group of painfully indecisive pony-tailed preteen girls, but they went for the taller one instead. Good thing for me, because the cactus I bought has sprouted a flower nearly twice the size of the plant after only two days of sitting on my windowsill.

I named it "Prickly."