Next to the cowboy hat and boots, the giant saguaro cactus is the most widely recognized symbol of the Southwest. Saguaro, the largest cactus in the United States, is abundant in the Sonoran Desert outside Tucson, Arizona. We have compiled some interesting facts that you may not have known about this beautiful iconic plant.

Identifying Features

The saguaros are giant, tree-like columnar cacti. As they age, they develop branches or arms that generally bend upward and can number over 25. A ribbed woody skeleton supports saguaros, and they expand like an accordion so the plant can retain more moisture. The cacti are covered with protective spines, white flowers in spring, and red fruit in summer.

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Habitat

Water and temperature are the most critical factors for the growth of the Saguaro cactus. Cold weather and very high elevation can kill the plant. It is thought that the saguaro obtains most of its moisture during the summer rainy season. Saguaros can be found in Southern Arizona and Western Sonora, Mexico, and a few stray ones can also be found in southeastern California.

Status

Although it is not considered threatened or endangered, California and Arizona have strict regulations on harvesting, collecting, and destroying the saguaro.

Life Span and Size

The saguaro can live up to 150-200 years old with the ideal growing conditions. Saguaro grows very slowly. It may only be 1.5 inches tall at ten years old but can grow to as tall as 40-60 feet as it matures. When hydrated, the plant can weigh between 3,200-4,800 pounds.

Other Facts

• Saguaro cacti typically live between 100 and 200 years.
• One saguaro can weigh more than a ton when fully grown.
• Arizona’s state flower is the saguaro’s bloom.
• The girth of saguaros can shrink or swell by 20-25 percent over the course of a year, depending on how much water they have accumulated. The root system of a saguaro is intricate. One “taproot” grows straight down about five feet to access water deep underground. A saguaro’s roots extend like a maze about three inches under the surface to collect rainwater.
• Despite the spines that keep hungry animals from devouring the plants’ tissues, saguaros serve as ‘hotels’ for birds such as Gila woodpeckers, which carve nest holes into the plants. Birds typically wait several months before moving in to allow the pulp of the cactus to dry and form a solid casing around the cavity.

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• The saguaro received its scientific name, Carnegiea gigantic, in honor of Andrew Carnegie, whose Carnegie Institution established the Desert Botanical Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, in 1903.
• Saguaros don’t always assume the familiar, forked silhouette associated with cowboy legend-some appear “crested” by a very rare fan-like structure called a cristate. 
• Saguaros are culturally important to the Tohono O’odham Nation. Native Americans harvest the ripe saguaro fruit in the spring to make wines, jams, and jellies. During Nawait I’i, a Tohono O’odham rain ceremony, saguaro wine is ritually consumed.
• Saguaros, which make gorgeous lawn decorations, have become black market commodities, with poachers raking in a few thousand dollars per haul.

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