I want you to understand how stunned we were by this. We’ve been calling Saguaro with a strong “g” sound since pretty much the beginning of our #parkchasing existence. However, to our defense, so does 90% of America.
The correct pronunciation of saguaro is Sah-WAR-oh, with no g at all. We encountered park ranger staff members and townspeople, who thankfully didn’t appear very worried by our many self-corrections. The word’s origins are likely from the Uto-Aztecan language of Sonora, Mexico, called pata, and it describes the tall, column-shaped cactus that we have all come to know and love.
Is the term “saguaro” Spanish?
On a morning in May or June, if you venture into the Arizona desert, you might witness the saguaro in bloom. Many of our readers will be familiar with this sight and the term “saguaro,” such as those who reside in Arizona and southeastern California. Or perhaps you just refer to this symbol of everything Southwest as the “big cactus.” The Sonoran Desert region of Mexico is home to the pata language, which is where the word “saguaro” first appeared. The Spanish that the Mexican settlers of the American West spoke is how it made its way into English. Given that this remarkable cactus may survive up to 200 years, the saguaros that we see now may have have existed when the name was first recorded, about 150 years ago.
Which one—a saguaro or a sahuaro—is correct?
The powerful saguaro cactus, an ubiquitous metaphor for desert existence, has a scientific name that was inspired by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, which you should know but probably don’t.
Dust breath, that’s correct. The Carnegiea gigantea is the most well-known cultural figure associated with Arizona (apart from Alice Cooper, of course). Save that information for the next time someone begins waxing overly passionately about “great pillars of thorny verticality” or “blooming skyscrapers of the desert” over the dying embers of a mesquite campfire. The saguaro is just a plant, in spite of all the mythology it has spawned. It has its peculiarities, visible personality flaws, and occasionally it falls and is unable to get up. It originated from dirt, much like people, and will eventually return to dirt, albeit considerably more slowly. Few living things will outlive the majority of saguaros, which can have up to 150 birthdays. The species of saguaros may or may not be going extinct (see story on page 38). Although they don’t grow in Texas, saguaros are featured in advertising all around the state.
They flourish throughout Mexico and in some areas of Arizona. The plant is most prevalent near east or just west of Tucson, a little hamlet south of here. A few saguaros have crossed the border into California, but not enough to warrant mentioning. Although it is pronounced like a W (suh-WAR-oh), the cactus’s common name is typically spelled with a G (as in Scottsdale’s Saguaro High School), although it was likely initially spelled with a H (as in Tucson’s Sahuaro High School). The answer to this age-old spelling conundrum is to tally how many times each word appears in the Phoenix phone book. Around 60 companies use Saguaro with a G. Fewer than 15 people use Sahuaro with an H.
These are appealing to us because of what they symbolize—basically, the artificiality of modern desert existence. Like practically all of us, these saguaros were brought here from somewhere else. On the hill, there is also a lovely wedding cake. (Bonus crypto-cactus footnote: Longtime saguaro watchers are wary of these specific species, observing that Papago Park’s saguaro population started to decline at the same time as Tovrea’s mound started to develop into a genuine saguaro forest.)
When the golf course was constructed a few years ago, this lovely example of saguarohood simply couldn’t be relocated outside of the boundaries, so it now lies, surrounded by lush, green grass, posing a danger to grass-stained lushes from Green Bay. It is easy to see the cactus in question from Thunderbird Road.
The Lisa Sette Gallery (4142 North Marshall Way) in Scottsdale is now featuring this piece, which depicts a crested saguaro rendered in rebar and roofing material. Berry’s nine-foot-tall scrap-heap saguaro, “Mutation,” is titled. Richard Nilsen, a critic of popular culture, deems it “surprisingly successful.”
No, the saguaro has not been overlooked by the art world (see story on page 22). Pull into the parking lot at 4133 North Seventh Street to see the Jaycees’ magnificent performance (slobs, it’s directly north of the Cheetah 1 topless club). It is tall, green, made of sheet metal, and attached to the front of the Jaycees building, where a teenage Alice Cooper once performed with his band the Spiders. It appears to be there to support a couple of large lamps. We are aware that the Jaycees have no hidden ritualistic or ceremonial significance for this sculpture. It’s only there to make your day better.
What stands for the saguaro cactus?
I find myself drawn to the Saguaro (Sah-wah-ro) cactus, the emblem of this environment, as I spend time in the Southwest desert, a climate and topography extremely different from where I dwell. These plants are unique to Southern Arizona and Baja, Mexico.
A symbol differs from a metaphor in that it is the actual item and does not resemble anything else. But it’s deeper meaning transcends what it actually is. Thus, the saguaro cactus represents the American Southwest and symbolizes the concepts of standing tall, adjusting to one’s surroundings, and giving people a place to live and food to eat. It possesses authority, grandeur, and a grandfatherly kind of wisdom.
The Sonoran Desert’s signature plant is the saguaro cactus. They appear as sentinels in the landscape, standing tall among the low-lying vegetation. They have a lifespan of up to 200 years, and only later in life do its branches, or “arms,” begin to grow.
This particular desert plant serves as a current personal symbol for me. A sentinel keeps watch and keeps guard. It alludes to more intelligence. This serves as a reminder to seek out and pay attention to the sentinels in my life. or to serve as my own sentinel.
Saguaro cacti have developed the ability to adapt to their surroundings and even flourish there. They start out their lives beneath existing plants as a kind of defense. As they get bigger, they can store a lot of water during the monsoon rains to prepare for dry periods. They have shallow roots that are widely dispersed. They bud and give fruit when the timing is appropriate.
Woodpeckers and other birds pierce their hard, prickly exterior with their beaks, leaving large holes despite the fact that this shell acts as a form of protection. The leftover holes make ideal nesting grounds for other birds as these wounds quickly heal. The very places from which we have the greatest to offer may be our wounds.
When I get back home, I’ll miss seeing the saguaro cactus dotting the countryside. However, their message will be with me always.
In the visual journaling class Once Upon a Time: Photographs have Stories to Tell, we look at symbols in our photographs. We even attempt to write haiku poems, a popular writing activity. Next Monday, February 27, the start of this online experience. There are 10 open seats. Please come along. Click here to read more and sign up.
What gave the saguaro cactus its name?
- Andrew Carnegie, a philanthropist, is honored with the name of the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea).
- Only in the Sonoran Desert can you find the saguaro cactus.
- Saguaro cacti develop very slowly. An adult saguaro can grow to a height of 60 feet, yet a juvenile cactus may only grow 1 to 1.5 inches in its first eight years. Their growth is influenced by the water supply.
- High-elevation saguaros typically cluster on warm, south-facing hillsides. Saguaro cacti cannot withstand freezing temperatures or frost, thus they are rarely found above 4,000 feet.
- The pleats on saguaros enable them to expand as they consume water (like an accordion) and to contract when they run out of water. The number of pleats on the saguaro’s exterior matches the number of woody ribs inside the plant.
- When saguaros are completely hydrated, they become incredibly heavy. Saguaros that are adults can weigh up to 4 tons.
- A saguaro begins to bloom around the age of 35 and develops its first arm around the age of 50. A saguaro is typically regarded as an adult at 125 years old. The saguaro has a 150–200 year lifespan.
- Saguaro cacti cells can occasionally mutate to generate fan-shaped crests in tangled patterns, though this is quite uncommon. Crests typically appear at the very top of the main stem.
In Arizona, is it against the law to take a dead saguaro cactus?
Keep in mind that someone owns or controls the open land in Arizona. Before visiting any land to remove natural resources, be sure you have written permission in your possession. Once more, the Arizona native plant statute does not provide protection for cactus skeletons or any other dead plant or plant parts.
What saguaro cactus is the tallest?
Cactus Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
The saguaro cactus, which “the American West, pronounced sah-wah-roh. We constantly encounter images of these cacti as a representation of the American Desert. Without looking closely at one of these well-known desert plants, a vacation to the Sonoran Desert is not complete. Almost everyone who has seen one has been captivated by these enormous green columnar cactuses. Even more significant to the native Tohono O’Odham are the saguaro cacti. The Tohono O’Odham see the huge cacti as revered tribe members rather than as plants. They see them as a distinct kind of humanity.
Although the saguaro cactus has come to represent the American West, it can only be found in the Sonoran desert. The saguaro cactus’s geographic range is constrained to southern Arizona since it is a desert indicator species. From sea level to an elevation of around 4000 feet, saguaro cacti can thrive. The saguaro cactus will limit its growth to the warmer, south-facing slopes the further north and higher in elevation you go. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is home to a large number of saguaro cacti. Impressive “saguaro forests may be spotted along the Ajo Mountain Drive.
The saguaro cactus, which can grow up to 40 feet tall, is the biggest cactus in the country. Over 78 feet high, the tallest saguaro cactus ever measured stood. All of the saguaro cactus’ growth takes place at the tip, or top, of the cactus, which grows like a column at a very slow rate. A saguaro cactus may take ten years to grow just an inch tall. A saguaro cactus can grow to a height of 6 and a half feet and begin to bear flowers at the age of 70. A saguaro cactus can grow to a height of 15 to 16 feet and begin to sprout its first arm by the time it is 95 to 100 years old. The saguaro cactus reaches its maximum height of up to 45 feet tall when it is 200 years old. While some saguaros develop dozens of arms, other cacti never produce even one. One of the unsolved mysteries of the desert is why this occurs.
The saguaro cactus is an expert at surviving in the desert. This plant was created from the ground up to survive in the sometimes hostile Sonoran Desert. The saguaro cactus’ epidermis is covered in a thick layer of waxy material that prevents water loss through transpiration and waterproofs the plant. To protect the water that is kept inside, the cactus has bristles that are both flexible and have sharp spines.
A saguaro cactus has an equally remarkable root system. The cactus will grow a sizable, solitary taproot that will extend straight down into the ground for around five feet. The cactus can get water that is kept underground thanks to this taproot. The saguaro cactus’ primary roots differ greatly from other cacti. A huge network of roots that resemble a maze is sent out by the cactus quite near to the surface. These roots are typically 3 inches or less below the surface, allowing the cactus to easily catch any rain that may fall.
Instantaneously, very little water is used. Instead, the majority of the water collected is eventually stored within the cactus for use during dry spells. A tissue that resembles a sponge fills the interior of the cactus and serves as a reservoir for the water. The cactus’ skin starts to grow as more water is stored, providing additional space for storage. When a result, as more and more water is stored, the saguaro cactus can get rather hefty. A Saguaro cactus foot can weigh up to 90 pounds when fully grown, and a whole Saguaro can weigh over a ton.
The saguaro cactus blooms from late spring to early summer. The flowering typically takes place between April and June. The milky-white blossoms give forth a sweet nectar that draws a variety of bat species. These bats consume flower nectar while also helping to pollinate the saguaro cactus. The bats will begin to devour the cactus fruit when it begins to produce fruit, which will help disperse saguaro seeds over the desert.