Photographs of Big Bend National Park

Keywords: Big Bend National Park, Texas, cactus, cacti, Chihuahuan Desert plants

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Big Bend National Park > Cacti > Photographs

Echinocactus horizonthalonius (young specimen)

Echinocactus horizonthalonius - Turk's head cactus (young specimen), near the start of the Hot Springs Road

Full size photograph (900 x 675 pixels)

Young specimens of the Turk's head cactus lack the tuft of woolly hairs that characterize older plants but the spines are the same; deep red at the growing tip, they soon bend back against the body, apart from the central spine that protrudes downwards. The plant eventually reaches heights of 6 to 10 inches or more and produces large pink flowers in spring, up to 3 inches across.

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