Cactus Lovers Hike at Dugout Wells

Prickly pear in bloom.

NPS/CA Hoyt

The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail is an easy, 0.5-mile loop through the desert and ending under the shade of the cottonwoods and huisache trees at Dugout Wells. This trail is a great place to look for classic Chihuahuan Desert plants.

 

Blind prickly pear pad with fruit.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Blind Prickly Pear
Opuntia rufida

Watch those glochids! Blind prickly pear looks soft and fuzzy, but it's not. Those "tufts" are fine, hair-like spines called glochids that will imbed themselves deep in your skin. So admire, but don't touch. Blind prickly pear blooms in April and May and grows in the hottest, driest part of the desert.

 

Big Bend Purplish Prickly Pear.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Purplish Prickly Pear
Opuntia azurea

Four types of purple prickly pear grow in the park. Big Bend purplish prickly pear (the species at Dugout Wells) is the most common. The intensity of the purple color depends on drought- and cold-stress. In winter, the cacti are brilliant purple; during the summer monsoons the pads are mostly green.

 

Yellow flowers of an Engelmann prickly pear.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Engelmann Prickly Pear
Opuntia engelmannii

The most common prickly pear in the park and the largest of the wild prickly pears. The flat pads have a distinctive spine pattern: three white spines pointed downwards. The spines resemble the three-toed track of a bird. The solid yellow flowers of Engelmann prickly pear bloom April through July.

 

Long, dark spines of the tulip prickly pear.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Tulip Prickly Pear
Opuntia camanchica

Another common prickly pear of the northern Chihuahuan Desert. The tulip prickly pear can be distinguished from Engelmanns prickly pear by the red or black spines (Engelmann prickly pear has white spines).

 

Strawberry pitaya in bloom.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Strawberry Pitaya
Echinocereus enneacanthus

One of several "strawberry cactus" that grow in the park. This species grows in many-stemmed mounds, usually under the shade of a mesquite. Bright magenta flowers cover the plants in April and May. E. enneacanthus doesn't have as many spines as the "true" strawberry pitaya (E. stramineus).

 

Magenta flowers of strawberry pitaya.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Strawberry Pitaya
Echinocereus stramineus

Considered the "true" strawberry cactus. The fruit looks, tastes, and smells like ripe strawberries (but even better!). The plants are many-stemmed mounds that are densely covered in straw-colored spines. Magenta flowers cover the plants in late spring (March through May).

 

Yellow-flowered rainbow cactus surrounded by Big Bend bluebonnets.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Texas Rainbow Cactus
Echinocereus dasyacanthus

A single to multi-stemmed cactus with large yellow flowers that bloom in late spring. The cactus gets its name from the color and band-like growth of its spines. Rainbow cactus are most common on limestone soils on the east side of the park, but a few can be found at Dugout Wells.

 

Pink flower on a low clump of Big-Needle Pincushion Cactus

NPS/CA Hoyt

Big-Needle Pincushion Cactus (Coryphantha macromeris)

Big-Needle Pincushion cactus is one of the most widespread cactus species in the park--but not the easiest to see! Look for low-growing, many-stemmed clumps. The rose pink to magenta flowers bloom from May to September, usually in response to rain.

 

Eagle's claw cactus in bloom.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Eagle's Claw Cactus
Echinocactus horizonthalonius

Easily recognized by its squat, thick, solitary, 8-ribbed stems. Eagle's claw is common, but often overlooked until it blooms in late spring and sporadically throughout the summer rainy season. The bright, magenta flower is a showstopper!

 

A giant fishhook cactus blooms after a late spring rain.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Giant Fishhook Cactus
Ferocactus hamatacanthus

A small barrel cactus that grows under shrubs or in rock crevices. It's a late bloomer--the yellow flowers usually coincide with the start of the rainy season (June through August). Notice the long, hooked spines that give this cactus its common name.

 

A low-growing nipple cactus hides among rocks.

CA Hoyt

Nipple Cactus
Mammalaria meacantha

A common cactus that is easily overlooked. It hides beneath trees and when dry, shrinks down to soil level. A circlet of cream-colored flowers with pink stripes crowns the plant in the spring.

 

Allthorn in bloom.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Allthorn
Koeberlinia spinosa

As the name suggests, allthorn is a tangle of green limbs tipped with sharp spines. After a rain, clusters of tiny white flowers appear on the branches, attracting bees, flower flies, wasps, butterflies, and other pollinators.

 

Leatherstem in bloom after a rain.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Leatherstem
Jatropha dioica

Usually just a mass of red-brown, single, leafless stems. But rain brings out the best in this plant. Leaves sprout and tiny, bell-shaped white flowers bloom. The stems are flexible, but if broken, the sap turns red giving the plant the common name of sangre de dragon (dragon's blood).

 

Torrey yucca in bloom.

NPS/CA Hoyt

Torrey Yucca
Yucca torreyi

Torrey yucca (or Spanish Dagger) is the most common of the five yucca species found in the park. When mature, this tree-like yucca is about 6 ft. tall. Look for the stiff, sharply pointed, fleshy leaves, and the spikes of cream-colored flowers. You can find Torrey yuccas in bloom almost any month of the year.