06/17/2026
Echinopsis huascha
I suppose itās not too surprising that a cactus can grow outside at UBC Botanical Garden, especially if thereās a modicum of winter protection. Deserts are characterized by open, cloudless skies, and these conspire to draw moisture away from the soilāand at night, heat away, as well. Regarding the presence of cacti, the deserts of Mexico and western North America come to mind, but after Mexico, the deserts of central-western South America represent the regions of greatest cactus diversity, and the red torch cactus, Echinopsis huascha, is native to northwest Argentina, near the centre of that distribution. Here in the Alpine Garden Cactus House, the red torch cactus enjoys a relatively dry habitat and excellent air circulation (which helps with the unwanted high winter humidity). While a typical-looking squat-columnar cactus, the opulent funnel-shaped flowers are nothing short of spectacular, both in their luminous, saturated coloursāthere are yellow and orange ones, tooābut also in the multiplicity of their floral features.
Unlike the flowers of most other plants, the cactus flower is composed of a series of bracts, the outermost initially comprising the protective covering of the unexpanded bud. These bracts transition to the longer, wider, brightly coloured petaloid tissues that collectively serve to attract pollinators and that surround the male and female organs. Inside the floral envelope, both the broad ring of contrasting pollen bearing stamens and pinwheel like stigma at the centre are conspicuous. Pollinators, apparently most commonly the glittering-bellied emerald (hummingbird), have to drive their bills deeply to find nectar at the base of the floral tube. As they do, they pick up pollen, which may then be deposited on the receptive stigma of a successive flower. Thereās a good chance that our native rufous and Annas hummingbirds, which are a similar size to the glittering-bellied emerald, may be snacking on high energy nectar and pollinating this exotic Andean cactus when no-one is looking.
