Saturday's Prickly Pear Flower 05-07-16

Copyright 2016 AJ Horton

Hello and happy Saturday,  As I was walking the dogs yesterday, I saw these yellow flowers near the ground through some high weeds.  We walked through those weeds to see these beauties and noticed they were blooming from a cactus!  This cactus is almost like a ground cover so we had to be careful, especially the pups, to not step on the cacti, and I made a promise to myself to come back with a camera. 

There are many cacti in this small area all blooming, which was great.  An internet search determined that this cactus is an Eastern Prickly Pear or Opuntia Humifusa and also known as devil's tongue.  I don't know why that is unless it's because the cactus is basically flat and has sharp bristles.  After the flower dies, it leaves behind a little, red, edible fruit.  I think I might try out a recipe or two for this fruit from a website called Epicurious.com.  Finding this flower, and then finding out that it has a dual purpose in leaving behind an edible fruit and then finding recipes for this equals an awesome day for me.

I hope you had an awesome Saturday!  Thank you for looking.  See you tomorrow.