Saguaro Cactus

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In the desert southwest, where temperatures are high and water is scarce, stands of ancient cactuses tower over the sand and scrub. The giant saguaro is supremely adapted to these arid conditions.With a stem that is up to 90 percent water and ribs that can expand like a squeezebox to accommodate a heavy rainfall, the saguaro hoards the desert’s most limited resource. In an ecosystem where water, food and refuge are hard to find, birds, mammals, reptiles and insects flock to the saguaro’s succulent and sheltering flesh.

The saguaro grows only in the Sonoran Desert—a vast dry land located between the horse latitudes and spanning parts of Arizona, California and Mexico. And while small bouquets of needles protect this endemic plant, its habitat remains vulnerable. Cities such as Tucson, Arizona, are elbowing into the Sonoran uplands, and forests of saguaro and palo verde trees are being lost to development, overrun by invasive species or pilfered by plant thieves. With regional metropolitan areas likely to double in population in the next 25 years, the Conservancy is now working to preserve contiguous desert habitat on both sides of the border.

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Nature picture credits: Photo © John Cancalosi/naturepl.com