I discovered this pink-flowered Spinystar (Escobaria vivipara) blooming along Redington Road east of Tucson this last 4th of July.

Spinystars usually have pink flowers, but some varieties have yellow or green flowers. They usually bloom from May to July in upland areas here in Arizona. The attractive flowers are followed by green fruit.

Spinystar used to be known as Beehive Cactus (Coryphantha vivipara), but both its common and scientific names have recently been changed. A Spinystar can be recognized by the relatively large flowers that sprout from the top of the plant and by its unique spines.

Each areole has a very distinctive starlike disk of white radial spines along with a number of brown-tipped central spines. All of these spines are perfectly straight, with no fishhook-like curves like the spines of Graham's Nipple Cactus (Mammillaria grahamii var. grahamii).

While this Spinystar was a solitary specimen, these cacti are often found growing in viviparous clumps.