Editing Cactus (section)

===Flowers===
[[File:Echinopsis multiplex cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Large flowers of an ''[[Echinopsis]]'']]
[[File:Stamen of Fish hook Cactus.jpg|thumb|Style and stamens of ''[[Mammillaria beneckei]]'' flower]]

Like their spines, cactus [[flower]]s are variable. Typically, the [[Ovary (botany)|ovary]] is surrounded by material derived from stem or [[Receptacle (botany)|receptacle]] tissue, forming a structure called a [[Hypanthium|pericarpel]]. Tissue derived from the [[petal]]s and [[sepal]]s continues the pericarpel, forming a composite tube—the whole may be called a floral tube, although strictly speaking only the part furthest from the base is floral in origin. The outside of the tubular structure often has [[areole]]s that produce wool and spines. Typically, the tube also has small scale-like [[bract]]s, which gradually change into sepal-like and then petal-like structures, so the sepals and petals cannot be clearly differentiated (and hence are often called "[[tepal]]s").{{sfnp|ps=none|Anderson|2001|pp=15–37}} Some cacti produce floral tubes without wool or spines (e.g. ''[[Gymnocalycium]]''){{sfnp|ps=none|Anderson|2001|pp=347–348}} or completely devoid of any external structures (e.g. ''[[Mammillaria]]'').{{sfnp|ps=none|Anderson|2001|pp=15–37}} Unlike the flowers of most other cacti, ''[[Pereskia]]'' flowers may be borne in clusters.{{sfnp|ps=none|Anderson|2001|p=566}}

Cactus flowers usually have many [[stamen]]s, but only a single [[Gynoecium|style]], which may branch at the end into more than one [[Stigma (botany)|stigma]]. The stamens usually arise from all over the inner surface of the upper part of the floral tube, although in some cacti, the stamens are produced in one or more distinct "series" in more specific areas of the inside of the floral tube.{{sfnp|ps=none|Anderson|2001|pp=15–37}}

The flower as a whole is usually radially symmetrical ([[Floral symmetry#Actinomorphic|actinomorphic]]), but may be bilaterally symmetrical ([[Floral symmetry#Zygomorphic|zygomorphic]]) in some species. Flower colors range from white through yellow and red to magenta.{{sfnp|ps=none|Anderson|2001|pp=15–37}}