Life cycle of the saguaro

Since my first visit to Arizona in 1973, I, along with many other folks, have enjoyed and been fascinated with the Saguaro cactus. This symbol of the desert southwest is a remarkable plant. It lives 200 plus years, grows to a height of 40-50 feet. It produces showy flowers on the ends of its arms in late spring, followed by fruits in summer that have long been harvested by the local

Indians. Some of the cacti are stately and symmetrical; others are gnarly and send out arms in all directions. Each saguaro seems to have its own personality. The saguaro may grow for as much as 75 years before beginning to sprout arms, so when you see a saguaro that looks like a candelabra, you're seeing a veteran cactus.

I'm trying to load pix in a chronological order. At the bottom you should see a dead saguaro; when the fiber of the cactus drops off, its wooden skeleton is revealed. Saguaro skeletons have long been used as building material by the Hohokam Indians and other indigenous people.

A mature saguaro is majestic, towering into the clear southwestern sky. The range of saguaros is limited. The cactus needs summer rainfall, so it doesn't grow in California because monsoon moisture rarely extends that far west. You see lots of saguaros in peoples' yards in Palm Springs, but they're transplants from Arizona. Saguaros can take light frosts but not prolonged freezing temperatures, so they're only found in the Sonoran desert below about 3500 feet elevation. They thrive best between about 1000 and 3000 feet in Arizona.

Young saguaros often start growing under a mesquite, ironwood, or paloverde tree. The bush gives the cacti shelter from the elements and predators that would otherwise eat seeds. It's common to see mature saguaros growing up from one of these three desert plants. The small young saguaro pictured is maybe 10-20 years old; they grow slowly.