Desert Botanical Garden

April 23, 2011

Today we visited the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ. I love to see the cactus in bloom and there is a great butterfly exhibit in the Spring and Fall here. We went with our good friends Laurie and John and had a very good time exploring this great Botanical garden.

This odd looking Boojum Tree (Fouquieria columnaris) is about thirty feet (10m) tall.

Here is a montage of some of the many photos I took in the butterfly tent (which is approximately 100 feet long, 25 feet wide and 20 feet tall, made of netting with lots of plants and misters).

I think these are Organ Pipe Cactus but they have a very odd bloom that is very fuzzy.

This is a Cholla cactus (sometimes spelled Chollo, but pronounced choya) which is backlit by the sun to create this startling effect.

Another shot of the Cholla Cactus (Cylindropuntia Fulgida) in the Desert Botanical Garden.

Cylindropuntia fulgida is also known as the hanging chain cholla, or the Jumping cholla.

The chollo cactus or cholla cactus is very pretty, but you do not want to touch it. Stay away!

I was surprised to see this Bignonia like flower on the Desert Willow Tree (or Chilopsis).

This humming bird’s wings are moving so fast they are just a blur in this photo.

This is one of the tallest Joshua Trees (Yucca Brevifolia) I have ever seen.

I loved all the little flowers on this group of Mammillaria compressa cactus.

Although not a great picture of this Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) cactus in bloom, I love the sky behind it. Other names for this plant are desert coral, coachwhip, Jacob’s staff, and vine cactus, although it is not a true cactus.

Here is a beautiful yellow bloom on a Prickly Pear cactus. This plant is also know as Opuntia, nopales or paddle cactus.

Another Prickly Pear Cactus in bloom. Notice the bee in the top right flower.

Another bee in a Prickly Pear Cactus bloom.

I like these orange colored Prickly Pear cactus blooms

These giant saguaro (pronounced suwaro which rhymes with borrow) cactus are always impressive. The scientific name is Carnegiea gigantea.

This odd looking Saguaro Cactus is about thirty feet tall.

Although I thought this was another Saguaro Cactus I now think it is actually a Cardón cactus, Pachycereus pringlei, sometimes spelled Cardon cactus or Cordon cactus.

Another massive Saguaro Cactus with an interesting deformed limb.

Here are some Saguaro cactus posing in front of the fascinating Papago Butte.

Here is a stump from a long dead Saguaro cactus.

Another shot of a Saguaro cactus in front of the Papago Buttes in Phoenix, AZ.

I found these young Yucca plants in bloom surrounding the stump of a fallen Joshua Tree very interesting.

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