My sister is out here in Arizona visiting and she is fascinated with the Saguaro Cactus. She even had her picture taken with one today. I will post that pic later. They can be quite beautiful. The saguaro cactus is protected in the State of Arizona, which means that you just can't go out into the desert, find one, dig it up, and plant it in your yard.
Creamy-white, 3-inch-wide flowers with yellow centers bloom May and June. Clustered near the ends of branches, the blossoms open during cooler desert nights and close again by next midday.
The magnificent Saguaro Cactus, the state flower of Arizona, is composed of a tall, thick, fluted, columnar stem, 18 to 24 inches in diameter, often with several large branches (arms) curving upward in the most distinctive conformation of all Southwestern cacti.
The skin is smooth and waxy, the trunk and stems have stout, 2-inch spines clustered on their ribs. When water is absorbed , the outer pulp of the Saguaro can expand like an accordion, increasing the diameter of the stem and, in this way, can increase its weight by up to a ton.
2 comments:
I am in love with them!
Gila Woodpecker, Purple Martins, House Finches, and Gilded Flicker live in holes inside saguaros. Flickers excavate larger holes higher on the stem, penetrating the ribs. Their holes sometimes cause enough damage to cause death and other problems. These woodpeckers create new nest holes each season, rather than reuse the old ones, thus leaving convenient nest holes for a variety of other animals, especially birds such as the Elf Owl.
Post a Comment