Two holes in one

Here’s a return to a subject treated on January 30: a prickly pear cactus pad with a hole in it. Not wanting to repeat myself, I’m offering you a photograph of a prickly pear pad with two holes in it. I noticed this specimen in my neighborhood on February 7 when I’d almost left the undeveloped property where I’d found a budding agarita. The prickly pear was in a hard place to photograph and was partly shaded by a tree, but I found a spot on the ground where I could gingerly lie down and take a few pictures of the cactus for the record. I faced up to those difficulties, and your imagination may face up to what could be an elongated green visage with two hollow eyes. Okay, it’s no Modigliani, but take it for what it’s worth.

UPDATE: Holes like this may be caused by fungi in the genus Phyllosticta, as I found in this article.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman