Just as many wildflowers are beginning to fade, cactus blooms are showing up a bit early to keep deserts around Tucson colorful.
Among the early bloomers are red and yellow cholla cactus flowers — adding their hues to landscapes also graced by the scarlet blooms of ocotillos.
Chollas often bloom in late April and May, cactus experts say, but they showed early color last year as well as this year.
Ocotillos, which are often taken for cacti because they have thorns, are actually large shrubs. They have long cane-like unbranched spiny stems that grow from a short trunk, and they produce bright red tubular flowers from March through June.
Tucson Mountain Park west of the city is one place to see ocotillos and some early cactus flowers. Ocotillo blooms are abundant, but cactus flowers are scattered for now. More of them will be showing up in the coming weeks.
