Cactus of Saguaro National Park: The Saguaro

On a recent trip to Saguaro National Park in Tucson, I thought it would be fun to identify as many different types of cactus as possible. After just two days in the area, Bev and I identified ten different cacti. Instead of overwhelm you all at once I thought I'd break down my posts into the following categories: Saguaro cactus, Hedgehog and Barrel cacti, Prickly Pear cacti, and Cholla cacti.

The Saguaro Cactus

(carnegiea gigantea)
Probably the most recognizable of all cacti, the Saguaro (pronounced "sah-wah-roh") is native to the Sonoran Desert which covers nearly a third of Arizona, a small part of California and then stretches south into Mexico. It seems to be most synonymous with Arizona and its flower, the Saguaro blossom, is the state flower.


This slow growing cactus takes 15 years to reach a foot tall and 50-75 years to grow its first arm. Some of the oldest and largest saguaros can have up to 30 arms and weigh several tons due to the mass of the water in the pulpy interior. The flower blooms between late April-early June; opening 2 hours after sunset and remaining open until the next afternoon.

I actually wish someone could have been there to photograph us as we took this picture. Saguaros are typically 10-30 feet tall (some even reach 50 feet high) so to get this close I had to put Bev on my shoulders and maintain my balance so we didn't end up falling into the cactus. Neither of us was hurt, so it was worth it. In my next post I'll show some pics taken of the hedgehog and barrel cacti we saw.