Visitors to the parched Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and northern Mexico marvel at the many-armed giants that give the landscape its unique appearance. These are the giant saguaro cacti. In the dry, rugged desert a saguaro cactus can live for more than 200 years, grow to a height of 60 feet, and have as many as 50 arms.
Amazingly, saguaro cacti persist despite the harsh, unforgiving desert climate. Those that have grown to old age have survived drought, freezes, flash floods, and brush fires, as well as the pack rats that eat their seedlings. Like all desert plants, saguaros hoard water. These leafless plants absorb the water through their long roots and store it for use during the desert’s long dry spells.
Naturally, the mighty saguaro is a vital part of desert life. In fact, this giant may be home to many animals, including woodpeckers, owls, doves, bats, and insects. In addition, after a saguaro reaches the age of fifty or so, hardy flowers appear at the top of the plant once a year. These flowers entice birds, bats, and bees, who come for the nectar and for the tasty flowers with their black seeds.
Although the regal saguaros are plentiful in the Southwest, they are, unfortunately, in danger. These giant cacti have great value in landscape gardening, and poachers can earn thousands of dollars by uprooting them and selling them to nurseries. To protect these Southwestern treasures from poachers, agents for the Arizona Department of Agriculture patrol the desert. Theirs is a hard but important job, for without the saguaro
many desert creatures would suffer food shortages and loss of nesting sites. The Southwest, too, would lose something of unique importance, since these desert giants have come to symbolize the very essence of this rugged region.