The saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) is an icon of the American southwest. These lone sentinels thrive in the harsh environment of the Sonoran Desert, which can exceed 120 degrees in the summer, but is also one of the wettest deserts in North America. Encompassing parts of Arizona, California and northern Mexico, this region averages 3 to 16 inches of rain a year and has two rainy seasons, one in the summer and another in the winter, which sustains a wide range of flora in addition to the saguaro.
Mature saguaros can reach up to 50 ft in height. They bloom for the first time when they are 50 – 75 years old and may live to 150 – 200 years (and weigh up to 10 tons). Ironically, the saguaro is so synonymous with the southwest that their likeness has been used in commercials and western films in places like Texas and New Mexico where they have never lived in the wild.
©Russ Bishop/All Rights Reserved
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