How to Identify a Cactus Flower

Distinguish the beavertail cactus flower by the shape of the plant and the vivid red or purple flowers. The beavertail cactus has a flattened shape that will remind you of that rodent's tail. It grows low to the ground, spreading out over an area as wide as 6 feet. The flower is oval and has stems as long as 13 inches. The flowers occur in clumps on the edges of the plant.

Look for the bronze flowers of the desert Christmas cactus. This cactus species grows in eastern portions of New Mexico, western Arizona and parts of Texas. The flowers are as wide as 1 inch and crop up from May through June.

Recognize the organ pipe cactus by its shape and then look for its flower at night. The cactus grows from a point in the ground in clusters of as many as 20 branches that can be as tall as 23-feet high. The flowers open at night from May through July, with the lavender-whitish petals existing on the top of the stems.

Discern the flowers of a barrel cactus by the pattern they grow in on the top of the plant. When all these flowers are in bloom, the plump barrel cactus looks as if it has a crown of red or greenish-yellow flowers. The flowers average 2 inches in diameter and typically bloom from April into June.

Watch out for the long, sharp spines that surround the flowers of a prickly pear cactus. This species has a similar shape to the beavertail variety, with thick pads growing as high as 7 feet. The red, yellow or purple flowers grow along the edges of these pads, which have spines as long as 6 inches all around the edges as well.