{"id":2915,"date":"2024-09-01T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/?p=2915"},"modified":"2024-09-24T13:29:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T19:29:56","slug":"cactus-close-up-ouch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/nature-studies\/cactus-close-up-ouch\/","title":{"rendered":"Cactus Close-up: Ouch!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the roughly 1,500 kinds of plants that grow in Boulder County, very few fight back. Cacti \u2014 or is it cactuses? \u2014 are the exception. (Either word is grammatically correct.) Cacti are desert-adapted and evolved to protect themselves from munching creatures seeking moisture and sustenance from the succulent stems.<\/p>\n

These stems swell with available water and shrink in drought, or to maximize winter water conservation. The stems have a waxy surface to help with moisture retention. And the roots of cacti are numerous and widespread, many of them shallow, enabling the plant to soak up moisture quickly from a brief downpour.<\/p>\n

Cactus leaves are reduced to spines, and spines do not absorb water but direct small droplets to trickle stem-wards if there is dewfall or rain. This is an efficient way to reduce water loss through transpiration that the plant would face if it had \u201cnormal-sized\u201d leaves spread in intense sun. The fleshy stems are green, that\u2019s where photosynthesis \u2014 the food production using chlorophyll and sunlight \u2014 takes place.<\/p>\n

The ouch effect of spines is substantial. If you accidentally place a hand or sandaled foot carelessly in a wildflower meadow or if you inadvertently park yourself on a prickly tuffet at a picnic, you\u2019ll not soon forget it. The pain is frequently delivered as a double whammy. First comes a sharp poke from a sturdy spine. Second follows the itch from a cluster of brownish fuzzy glochids (minute, barbed bristles) growing around spines, that detach easily and embed in your skin. Spines are easy, if painful, to remove. Glochids are a challenge. Advice on their removal is copious. Maybe you\u2019ve heard \u201cpick them out one by one with needle-nosed tweezers,\u201d or \u201cUse duct tape sticky side down to pull out clusters,\u201d or \u201cUse a drop or two of Elmer\u2019s glue, let it dry then peel off the glue-skin (not your skin!) and glochids together.\u201d (Who knows how many folks carry Elmer\u2019s just in case!) We have several cactus species growing in Boulder County, as they do well in our semidesert habitats and can tolerate moderate wintery conditions, even snow cover. It\u2019s good moisture, after all.<\/p>\n

Prickly Pear<\/h2>\n

Prickly pear species are the most widespread and frequently seen of our local cacti. These plants belong in the genus Opuntia, and the four kinds are not always easy to tell apart. The species that \u201csticks with you\u201d most readily is the brittle prickly pear, whose roundish, prickly stems break off from the plant cluster readily at the touch of a sneaker, sock, or pant leg. It\u2019s a great dispersal method. I have yet to see this species in bloom.<\/p>\n

\"Close-up<\/a>
Opuntia polyacantha. Photo by Ann Cooper.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other three species, with flattened, paddle-like stems, are the western, plains, and brown-spine (aka tulip prickly pear or desert prickly pear \u2014 which goes to show how iffy and uninformative common names can be). Prickly pears have vivid and variably colored flowers with many stamens. They always seem to have resident insects inside the petals to add to the interest.<\/p>\n

Ball or Barrel Shaped<\/h2>\n

The rest of our cacti are ball or barrel shaped. Missouri foxtail (Coryphantha missouriensis) is a prickly barrel that shrinks inconspicuously into the ground when not flowering. It blooms in May and the fruits ripen the following spring. (Its relative, the pincushion cactus \u2014 Coryphantha vivipara \u2014 with luminous pink flowers, grows in Colorado, but not locally.)<\/p>\n

\"Close-up<\/a>
Coryphantha missouriensis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHedgehog\u201d is an ongoing theme in many common names, not surprisingly. In the case of our Mountain cactus, the whole genus (Pediocactus) bears the name Hedgehog. This rounded barrel cactus has spirally arranged tubercles (small projecting elongated knobs) with pink flowers at the tubercle tips.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Pediocactus simpsonii<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The nylon hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus viridiflorus) \u2014 now there\u2019s a common name conundrum \u2014 is an early bloomer which boasts a mass of yellowish-green flowers below the highpoint of its clustered barrel stems. It is a joy to find an extended patch of these subtle, easily overlooked cacti in a meadow dotted with spring beauties and sand lilies.<\/p>\n

\"Close-up<\/a>
Echinocereus viridiflorus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the season changes from summer to fall, you\u2019ll notice cacti shriveling in preparation for the cold winter months. Though they may look dead and even turn shades of orange and red, they are, in fact, alive and well. By dehydrating, they are preparing for the freezing temperatures to come. Cactus are hardy plants that thrive in our desert landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among the roughly 1,500 kinds of plants that grow in Boulder County, very few fight back. Cacti \u2014 or is it cactuses? \u2014 are the exception. (Either word is grammatically correct.) Cacti are desert-adapted and evolved to protect themselves from munching creatures seeking moisture and sustenance from the succulent stems. These stems swell with available […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[87],"class_list":["post-2915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-studies","tag-fall-2024"],"yoast_head":"\nCactus Close-up: Ouch! - Images<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/nature-studies\/cactus-close-up-ouch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cactus Close-up: Ouch! - Images\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Among the roughly 1,500 kinds of plants that grow in Boulder County, very few fight back. 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It is especially hard to miss if you accidentally back into one. One might imagine these spiny plants have more in common with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science"","block_context":{"text":"Science","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/science\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"yucca","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yucca.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yucca.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yucca.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yucca.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yucca.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/yucca.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1927,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/science\/wetland-vips\/","url_meta":{"origin":2915,"position":1},"title":"Wetland VIPs\u2014Very Important Plants","author":"Staff","date":"03\/01\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Cattails. 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These plants offer food, shelter, and homesites to mammals, birds, insects, and other creatures living in and around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science"","block_context":{"text":"Science","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/science\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wetlands","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/wetlands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/wetlands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/wetlands.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/wetlands.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/wetlands.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/wetlands.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1573,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wildlife\/frogs-the-other-springtime-singers\/","url_meta":{"origin":2915,"position":2},"title":"Frogs: The Other Springtime Singers","author":"Staff","date":"05\/22\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The life zones in Boulder County foster high diversity in wildlife. A spring walk in the evening or a summer walk in the mountains brings a symphony of frog calls as the males congregate in pools to attract the females. This article illustrates the environmental adaptations of two frogs found\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wildlife"","block_context":{"text":"Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Leopard frog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/frog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/frog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/frog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/frog.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/frog.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2082,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/science\/six-sided-wonders\/","url_meta":{"origin":2915,"position":3},"title":"Six-Sided Wonders","author":"Staff","date":"12\/01\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Creating paper snowflakes is a favorite wintertime craft. There is no right or wrong way\u2014just grab some paper, fold it into sixths, and cut away. Each flake will be unique and lovely. Paper snowflake creation is so simple, but how do real snowflakes form? 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But no matter their shape or how they split open to spread their contents, all these vessels serve a single purpose: to safely house and later disperse seeds to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Studies"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Studies","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/nature-studies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Collage of plants highlighting their pods and seeds.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMAGES-WEBSITE-FEATURED-IMAGE.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMAGES-WEBSITE-FEATURED-IMAGE.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMAGES-WEBSITE-FEATURED-IMAGE.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMAGES-WEBSITE-FEATURED-IMAGE.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMAGES-WEBSITE-FEATURED-IMAGE.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1976,"url":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/nature-detectives\/toads\/","url_meta":{"origin":2915,"position":5},"title":"Toads Have Warts… And That’s Good!","author":"Staff","date":"06\/01\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Warts on your skin are not good. Warts can occur when a virus sneaks into human skin through a cut. A medicine gets rid of the virus and then it\u2019s good-bye ugly wart. Toad warts look slightly like human warts, but toad warts and people warts are not one bit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Detectives"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Detectives","link":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/category\/nature-detectives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nature Detectives","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/nd.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/nd.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/nd.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/nd.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/nd.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/nd.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2915"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2936,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2915\/revisions\/2936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bouldercountyopenspace.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}