Prickly Pear Blossom

Prickly Pear Blossom

The wait and stalking are over. The Prickly Pear cacti are finally in bloom at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Not commonly seen around Chicago or Northwest Indiana - yet not rare at all - the Prickly Pear cactus is in full bloom. Flowering in late June, the cactus blossoms last only one day. The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's West Beach and Inland Marsh trails have scores of these growing in the sandy soil. I've also run into them (literally) near the beach in Cowles Bog and along the I and M Canal in LaSalle, Illinois.
Prickly Pear Cactus in Bloom

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