Cactusland

Resting with saguaros in Catalina State Park near my house.

Even though it's been searingly hot since I moved to Tucson, I'm loving the cactuses that I see everywhere, especially the majestic saguaro (pronounced sa war o). Besides heavily populating the desert, they line highway median strips and punctuate yards and businesses.

The saguaro is native to the Sonoran Desert and only grows in Arizona, northern Mexico and a small part of California. 

At the Tucson Botanical Gardens.

Fun Saguaro Facts

* They are the largest cactus in the United States.

* The tallest one on record was 78 feet high near Cave Creek, AZ, before it was toppled by a windstorm.

* They may take 20 to 50 years to reach a height of about three feet.

* A fully hydrated saguaro can weigh between 3,200 and 4,800 pounds.

* Saguaros routinely live 150 to 200 years.

* They might not grow their first arm until they're about 75 years old. Some never grow arms, while others can have as many as 49 arms.

* The white blossoms are the state flower of Arizona.

* Their red fruits are several inches long and ripen in June. Each fruit has about 2,000 seeds.

* Saguaros provide food and shelter to hundreds of other species, including the white-winged dove, woodpeckers, flickers, owls, purple martins, house finches, ants, and humans.

* Harming or vandalizing a saguaro is illegal in Arizona. Special permits are needed to move saguaros during construction, with a few exceptions.

* In 1982, David Grundman was killed by a saguaro after he shot and poked it trying to make it fall. A 500-pound arm fell on him and crushed him and his car. Then the trunk fell on him. The Austin Lounge Lizards wrote the song "Saguaro" about his death:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7y_9OCCqHM

I took these two photos in Catalina State Park a few months ago. It's been too hot to go back since then.

Doves are often seen perched atop saguaros.

Okay, that's enough for the lesson. Now I'll just show some of my favorite cactus and succulent photos from my new home.

This beautiful prickly pear grows at the front corner of my house and reaches up to the roof. The hummingbirds love its fruit and blossoms.

I also have this rotund barrel cactus and huge agave ...

... and an ocotillo and the pencil cactus (both are actually succulents) that hummers also love.

Here are a few photos of cactuses from walks near my house:

And here are pictures I took over the weekend at the Tucson Botanical Gardens:

Tile bench at the botanical gardens.

I bought this puzzle at the botanical gardens gift shop, and I might frame it after I'm done and hang it up. It's too beautiful to live in a box!

Have a colorful day