The showy mistletoe Tristerix aphylla(Family Loranthaceae) is a Chilean species that inhabits the watery, succulent tissue of a columnar cactus, Echinopsis chilensis. What you see in these images are the red inflorescence axes of this endoparasite, erupting through the tough skin of the cactus stem. Fruits are fleshy and dispersed between the host cacti via birds.