Center
And for those who have never had the chance to look into a prickly pear cactus flower—one of the largest and most attractive we have in Texas—here’s what the inside of one looks like (click for greater detail). Note the subservience of all those frenzied stamens to the single raised stigma at the center of the polleny storm.
© 2011 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
It’s beautiful, Steven, it looks almost like velvet. 🙂
annejutras
August 22, 2011 at 8:08 PM
Merci, Anne. You’re the first person I’m aware of to suggest a comparison to velvet.
Steve Schwartzman
August 22, 2011 at 10:17 PM
I have looked at them many times. This is a gorgeous photo of it!
Montucky
August 22, 2011 at 10:53 PM
Thanks, Terry. I’ve done a lot of looking at these too.
Steve Schwartzman
August 23, 2011 at 3:06 AM