Engelmann Prickly Pear Cactus

by Marilyn Smith

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Price

$350

Dimensions

9.000 x 9.000 inches

Title

Engelmann Prickly Pear Cactus

Artist

Marilyn Smith

Medium

Painting - Watercolor

Description

Engelmann Prickly Pear Cactus is number seven in my series of watercolor paintings of cactus blooms from the desert Southwest area in Arizona.
Please take a look at the other six paintings in the series and watch for more new blossoms in the future! I am concentrating on the cactus flower itself, rather than the plant they grow on.
Prickly pear cacti come from a huge family of similar plants and flowers. The Engelmann variety have a more shrub-like base or trunkless plant that grow in large, tall spreading clumps. They are common in the Southwest and northern Mexico. They are extremely abundant in the Sonoran Desert around the Phoenix and Tucson areas They sprout roots easily from each pad that touches the ground. Therefore, they spread rapidly forming impenetrable thickets.
Young, spineless pads can be cooked as a vegetable. The ripe fruit that forms after the cactus blooms can be made into juice and jams. The barrel-shaped green pod turns a dark wine-red color when ripe. Prickly pear ice cream is very popular in the area as well as tea flavored with the juice.
Pack rats love the fruit and often build nests in the center of the cactus clumps forming a protective barrier among the spiny pads.
The lemon yellow flowers usually cover the upper edges of the pad, turning an apricot color as they age. If winter rains have been heavy, many blossoms will form creating a sea of yellow flowers.

Uploaded

May 12th, 2015

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