The Saquaro Cactus
- Arizona’s Saquaro Cactus, photo Richard Elliott
When people think of the desert, especially the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, the first thing that comes to mind is the image of the Saquaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea). This majestic giant is the largest cactus in the U.S. The beautiful white and yellow flowers blossom at night, usually April-June. The sweet nectar attracts bats and insects at night, and birds during the day, all of which help in pollinating the flowers. By late June, the ruby-red fruit is ripe and contains from 1,000-2,000 seeds. The O’odham tribes of Arizona have used the fruit as a food source for many years.
Saquaro is pronounced Se’warou, and comes from the Spanish language, according to Wikipedia.com. The showy flower is about three-inches in diameter and is the Arizona State Flower. It is believed the cactus can live as long as 150-200 years and grows 40-60 feet tall.
The cactus grows very slowly. To survive in the hot Sonoran Desert, the cactus has spines that grow vertically inside the cactus. The spines absorb or “draw” precious moisture into the cactus. The arm-like appendages, giving the cactus that “human-like” appearance, begin to grow with age. These branches are grown to increase the plants reproductive capacity, because more apices create more flowers and fruit, according to Wikipedia. Strangely, some Saquaro never grow branches.
Water and temperature are the most important factor for growth, according to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum. The cactus obtains most of its water during the summer rainy season. Its growing range is southern Arizona and western Sonoran, Mexico, with some stray plants reaching into southeastern California. Although the Saquaro is not endangered, Arizona has strict laws about “harvesting,” collecting or destruction of the species.
Some of these strict and protective laws came into being due to something called “cactus plugging.” Sadly, vandals would simply venture into the desert to blow-up or shoot apart the majestic Saquaro cactus.
According to the Desert Museum, another reason the cactus is a fragile plant in the tough desert environment is that it’s water-seeking tap root penetrates just over two-feet in the desert terrain, while its root system radiates out from the plant, for as far as it is tall, and only between four-six inches deep in the desert soil.
To learn more about the Saquaro and the Sonoran Desert, visit Saquaro National Park, Arizona, or visit their informative web site, http://www.saquaro.national-park.com/information.
Source: http://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheet/Saquaro%20Cactus.php
