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Sclerocactus wrightiae
A member of the cactus family, this species is a perennial herb with a solitary, hemispheric, ribbed, 6 to 12 cm tall stem that produces nearly-white to pink flowers from late April through May.
Vegetation associations include semi-barren sites within desert scrub or open pinyon juniper woodland communities at 4,200 to 7,600 feet in elevation. Endangered species, range limited to small section of south-central Utah.
photographed in urban botanical garden. Not native to northern Utah.
Spotted on May 6, 2011
Submitted on Nov 2, 2011
1 Comment
Strange-looking flowers, exceptionally large. This is not S. wrightiae. Could be S. parviflorus - parviflorus being an unfortunate misnomer - smallflowered only in comparison with S. polyancistrus, the "giant" of the genus. Don't use A Utah Flora to ID Scleros, it is very inaccurate. Flora of North America is much better, though not perfect.