Found a weird cactus in the desert near Tucson

I was hiking in Saguaro National Park last Tuesday and spotted a cactus I'd never seen before. It was about two feet tall with these strange, twisted arms and bright pink flowers. I took a picture and spent the whole evening trying to ID it. Turns out it was a rare, native species called a Cochise pincushion cactus. I had no idea they grew in that specific area. Has anyone else come across one of these in the wild?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmashah12d ago

Remember getting super lost trying to find a specific rock art panel near Sedona. Spent hours in the heat following vague directions, only to find a way cooler, totally different set of petroglyphs a mile off trail. Honestly, that's half the fun of poking around out there. You go looking for one thing and the desert just shows you something else entirely.

ivanc4512d ago

Exactly, @emmashah, the desert's best finds are always the ones you never meant to look for.