Saguaro National Park & the Endearment of a Cactus

The landscape of the Sonoran Desert in bloom is beyond imagination.  One of North America’s four major deserts, the Sonoran is actually lush - a composition of cacti, small trees, brushy shrubs, grasses and other perennials.  It is home to the unique cactus forest of the saguaro.  The saguaro is the iconic symbol of the American Southwest and what we conjure with the word “cactus.”  If these cacti started to march or dance or do sun salutations, it would not seem beyond the realm.  They are incredible plants bordering on humanoid creatures.  

In the Sonoran, groves of saguaro line the rocky mountain slopes.  Striking in stature, saguaros are among the tallest of cacti and with the most mass.  They can reach 75’ tall and weigh more than five tons.  Saguaros grow primarily in the Sonoran region, which has summer rains, a basalt base, and winters that are milder than the other deserts of the U.S.

Saguaro National Park in Arizona preserves populations of saguaros and saddles Tucson in two units – Saguaro West, Tucson Mountain District and Saguaro East, Rincon Mountain District.  In both districts, the landscape does not cease to amaze.  The saguaros stand sentry and the desert gardens at their feet include mesquite and palo verde trees, numerous cholla and prickly pear cactus in bloom, and around every turn is, for me, something exotic and strange and wonderful in nature.

A few remarkable facts about the saguaro emphasize how special these plants are in the world of plant diversity:

• Saguaros may grow only 1 inch in the first 6-8 years of life.  A specimen at full height of 40-50’ tall may be 150 years old.  

• Saguaros do not grow “arms” until they are 50-70 years old.  Once an extension has grown, growth accelerates allowing more to be created.

• Saguaros can live to be 200 years old.  They are susceptible to wind damage, freezing, lightning strikes, and climatic changes, but the mature specimens in Saguaro National Park are well on their way to old age, especially in greater numbers in the West (in both districts there are mature, middle-aged, and a healthy crop of the younger cacti generation).

Other standouts in this spring desert landscape include the staghorn cholla, the teddy bear cholla, prickly pear, fishhook barrel cactus, and the ocotillo.  All are in bloom this late April and buzzing with pollinators.

The saguaro are just beginning to bloom, too, and will fruit mid-summer.  The buds and white blooms are starting to open, ready to attract gilded flickers, Gila woodpeckers, hummingbirds, bats, moths, and other insects. 

Of ethnobotanical significance, indigenous settlers of the area have relied on the saguaro for centuries.  The plant is part of the cultural calendar, especially bloom-to-harvest season as spring and summer arrive.  
The saguaro provided lumber, food, drink, tools, and shade.  Today, the Tohono O’odham (“Desert People”) continue to harvest fruits for traditional use in syrup, jams, seed meal, and ceremonial wine.

The saguaro, with its tediously slow growth, long life, cultural significance, and winning personality, is a cactus to love.

Reference (and really interesting botanical read):

Yetman, David, et al. The Saguaro Cactus: A Natural History. The University of Arizona Press, 2020.