As my Easter trip to Big Bend started to come to a close, a few of us who weren’t too exhausted from our other endeavors went for one last hike. A much shorter hike of only about 2.5 miles, it went through a fairly flat plain and then climbed up a steep outcropping toward the very end, where the trail finished in a formation called “Balanced Rock” An impossibly large boulder sat perched between two upright boulders, angled in such a way that it seemed certain the boulder would fall at any moment.
As we walked the first, flat part of the hike, we noticed bright pink flowers all over. Upon closer inspection, these magenta blossoms were attached to small, very spiky cacti. Upon research once I got home, I found out that these were Strawberry Hedgehog Cacti, so names for their small, spiky shape that reminds one of a hedgehog. As it turns out, we were lucky to catch these gorgeous blossoms as each plant only flowers for about 5 days a year between the months of February and April. In our final hike before the long drive home, these vibrant cacti were an excellent find before heading back to the more familiar environment of Austin.
Source: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/hedgehog-cactus-information-43972.html
iNaturalist Link:http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5977461