Wednesday Filler: Blooming Cactus Season in Michigan

Yes, Michigan, Ontario, Minnesota, and even Alberta and other chilly places have blooming cacti, many of them often decently large in size and comparable in beauty to the finest specimens from the deserts.  Here we have a picture sent to me from a fellow invasive species combatant, taken at Grand Mere State Park on Lake Michigan in Michigan, not far from the Indiana border.

Courtesy of Brad Anderson

This would be an Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia Humifusa).  While this particular patch does grow on a stabilized sand dune, the environment surrounding it is far from an arid desert.  All it takes to establish one of these things is some well-drained, usually dry ground with a good amount of sun baking it, which usually means they are somewhat exposed.  Even when in bloom, a prickly pear is often missed by people focused on their horizontal field of vision.  After all, there is a stunning lake view and a lovely forest in view at chest height, whereas down there is mostly grass, pine needles, dead leaves, and little wonders like this, a botanical chain link between the western and eastern lands of the continent.  One wonders what the early settlers and explorers would have made of such a sight.  They probably either ignored it or figured they were on the verge of a desert or some place much warmer than what they had been told.