The Saguaro is the state flower of Arizona and often home to the state bird, the Cactus Wren. The saguaro cactus is definitely an iconic Arizona thing. The only place it grows in the world is in the Sonora Desert which spans the international border from southern Arizona into Mexico. Say Sah-WAR-oh--more or less.One h and the g has the Spanish h sound. I have read it also grows in one small area in southestern California but have not seen that for myself. It is limited to and the marker plant for the Snora Desert for sure. There are some slightly similar cacti elsewhere but they are not saguaro!!
People do transplant them like into Cochise and Graham counties. That is mostly too high and cold (they do not do well over 3500-4000 feet and are not frost hardy due to being so very wet) but some will survive. A place about half way down I-10 to Benson from my home had several big ones brought in and planted not long after I got here. So far they seem to be hanging on. I am not a fan of any cacti in my yard because I think they all belong out in the desert or wilder enviornments and worry about them hurtingmy dogs or visiting kids. I fell into a prickly pear once when I was about thirteen or so. Ouch! Getting those thorns pulled out by pliars from my hip, leg and side was anguishing. Saguaros have fierce thorns too.
Anyway I guess I first saw the big many armed cacti in about 1949 on a trip we made to near Tucson hunting javelina although I may have on an earlier trip or two to the Phoenix area. My late hubby,who had grown up in Bisbee, lived in Tucson for several years while attending the UofA and also working on the campus police deaprtment. He was working with the Boy Scouts too and having also lived in Yuma before I knew him was pretty expert on the Arizona deserts. He introduced me to the perfect application of a Saguao rib for a hiking stick.
To do this find a recently dead one where the outer skin with the thorns is just peeling away to reveal the inner ribs that were akin to blood vessels for the cactus when it lived. At the right stage these will break free easily and can be cut like regular wood to whatever length you want. They are rough though and it takes a lot of careful hand rubbing with oil or very gentle sandpaper to make them smooth and comfortable to the touch. You can also carve or shape them to make a comfortable hand grip. I still have mine that we collected back about 1984 or so. It is light and very strong, a fine 'third leg' for support and balance when hiking. I drilled a small hole near the top and made all little decoration or totem with a leather thong and some beads. BTW, people are not encouraged to prowl around in the desert now to find one but taking a dead plant or part of one is not illegal.
These cacti live two hundred years or more and start putting on the 'arms" between 70-90 years. Yes, they do grow slowly and are adapted to survive long spells of drought. Many middle aged ones only have perhaps four or five arms but some just seem to keep adding them until they have ten or twenty and some rarer plants grow a crown shape at the top. I am not sure what causes this, whether it is a genitic thing in a few individuals, an injury or a parasite.
The Tohono O'odham tribe has a long history of collecting the fruit which grow from the white flowers that cluster at the top of a the cactus (starting around age 60-70) and sometimes some larger arms in the spring. Like other cactus fruit they are quite sweet although an acquired taste. They do taste "cactusy" but make good jam and jelly. Once you get the thorny skin off, that is.
A few odd tidbits--you cannot cut down or remove one even on your property. Call the state to remove it if you must. Yes, you can buy them--several nurserys grow and sell them--from little ones in a box to larger but they can be very pricey!! Remember it may take one ten years to get beyond a few inches high! An arm that is broken off as say in a storm or partly damaged by a fire can root and grow and thus will have a 'jump' on a baby from a seed--but do NOT do this to get one!! Rerooting has been done successfully but as they say, don't try this at home. These plants are very well protected by law as is only right.
One little giggle. The saguaro has been featured on several Arizona license plates. My favorite was a few years ago so you do not see many now. It was dark red or maroon with white leters and numerals, letters on the right and numbers on the left, like ABC 123. And in the middle was a likeness of a saguaro--an arm on each side of the taller main trunk, which made it look like it was giving everybody the bad finger! I had one on my red pickup that I had to give up when I moved to New Mexico. It ended in 666. I think I still have it somewhere! The new ones are not quite like that!
Here are a couple of links to learn more about these unique and Absolutely Arizona plants.
https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Saguaro%20Cacthp
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/carnegiea_gigantea.shtml
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| Near Cascabel, AZ Spring 2020 |
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| With Mom & our Jeep in desert near Tucson |
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