Tuna

This past April you got a look at the attractive flower of the prickly pear cactus, Opuntia engelmannii, and since August I’ve been seeing this species’ ripening fruits, known in Spanish as tunas. Here’s a closeup of a tuna that had turned a rich red by the time I photographed it on September 3 during the same session in the Bull Creek Preserve that brought you yesterday’s picture of prairie flameleaf sumac’s tiny fruits.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman