Oh, Saguaro!
Wendy has a habit of remarking: "That's insane!" in response to things that aren't insane at all, they are just surprising. She said it a lot related to the Saguaro cactus, which was such a joy to discover! A few fun facts:
- The Saguaro is native to the Sonoran desert in southern Arizona and western Sonoran Mexico...you'll know you are in this desert when you see them everywhere.
- Saguaro is pronounced with a Spanish "g" sound, like "w", not a hard English "g".
- The plant is not endangered, but is protected by Arizona law. There are strict guidelines for removing, selling and planting them.
- It's the largest cactus in the U.S., but it grows incredibly slowly. A ten-year-old plant may be only a few inches tall! They may only grow their first side arm at age 75-100 (or never).
- They can live to be 150-200 years old. An when full over water, weigh over 3,000 lbs.
- When they die you can see...they have a wooden infrastructure! Who knew!?
- Final, fact, which is confusing as well as surprising, their scientific name Carnegiea, was given in honor of Andrew Carnegie, America industrialist...and fan of the desert, we presume?
Saguaro National Park - East. These cactus are pretty tall!
Saguaro bloom starting in April. We only got to see a few early blooms before we left the area!
Dead Cactus. Saguaro National Park - East
Up close, live.
Up close, dying.
Sabino Canyon, Coronado National Forest
Sabino Canyon, Coronado National Forest
Crazy Cactus (our name!)
Rare cristae cactus. This is due to fasciation. We saw this in Saguaro National Park - East. We also saw one on the campus of the University of Arizona.
Cactus Moon, Saguaro National Park - East
Sources: Curt's parents; people at the National parks; Wikipedia; Desert Museum Saguaro Fact Sheet .