Cactus flowers provide some of nature's biggest surprises. From drab greenish plants that bristle with vicious spines, blossoms burst out in an extraordinary array of colors, including sizzling salmon-pink, sulfur yellow, cerise, mauve, magenta, flaming orange stripes, and pure wax white. Some bloom at 115 degrees F; some bloom only after rain, some exclusively at night; and many are lavish with fragrance and pollen. All in all, cactus flowers are anything but shrinking violets. This vivid addition to the Look West Series includes basic succulent information and horticultural tips as well as a little cactus folklore and, of course, a dazzling desert garden of full-color photographs. 45 photos and illustrations.

About the series: Look West: What do you find? Wide, wild landscapes...extraordinary plants and animals...rugged people rich in history...ghost towns and working ranches...ancient pueblos and ultramodern urban areas. In the West, coyotes howl. Native Americans endure and flourish. Kokopelli, the mythical humpbacked flute player, prances across the cliff dwellings and into popular culture—and thousands of curio shops. Every small, handsome book in Rio Nuevo Publishers' Look West series presents a unique aspect of the American West. Using words and pictures, each volume explores a special Western topic or phenomenon, and all have been written and illustrated by regional experts. Each of these attractive 6 x 6-inch hardcover books contains 64 pages of text, illustrations, and photographs. And each one allows the reader to capture the spirit of the West in the palm of a hand.