There's lots to see and do in Arizona--hiking, camping, snow skiing (yes, in Arizona), water activities, and more.  We hope to introduce you to some of these adventures in this section--a way for you to learn more about our state and some of its features.

Now, let's learn a little about this interesting saguaro cactus.  You can either click on each topic, or, scroll through the entire text.

Sagauro Cactus & Arizona Law
What's So Special About This Cactus?
Flowers On A Cactus?
What Holds This Giant Up?
Does A Falling Saguaro Make Noise If No One Is Around?
Links To Other Interesting "Kids Stuff"

First of all, the sagauro cactus is protected by Arizona law.  It's illegal to collect or mutilate this plant on public land.  In fact, a permit is required to even move a saguaro from private land, whether donating it to another location, or selling it to another person.  There are some interesting news stories about "saguaro rustlers" being arrested and convicted for do doing just that.

Our state's law is one of the toughest anywhere, and we are proud to be giving this endangered plant such protection.  Saguaros are only seen in this country in Arizona.  Mexico, just south of us, has the majority of saguaros, which dot their arid landscape.

What's so special about this cactus, you ask?  Well, for one thing, they take a very long, long time to grow.  It's felt that they can live as long as a century (and maybe even longer--perhaps as long as 200 years).  An estimated height by age 20 is anywhere from four-and-one-half inches to almost 18 inches.  Their growth rate varies, depending on their location.  A full-grown saguaro cactus can weigh as much as two tons or more.  So, when someone wants to clear their land to build a new home or to farm, saguaros would not be able to fill their landscape until about 100 years later!

You may not know this, but a huge number of cactus have flowers, just like other types of plants.  Some cactus don't bloom until they're mature (full grown).  Others have flowers every year from a very young age.  Some have flowers that open at sunrise, close by sunset, and are gone by the next morning.  Other varieties do the opposite.  And, finally, some have flowers for a longer period of time.

The saguaros don't produce their flowers until about the age of 30.  They slowly open a few hours after sunset, in May or early June, and by the following afternoon, these creamy-white beauties are closed forever.  Each adult saguaro has about a dozen flowers open each day for about 30 days.  Then, we wait for the next year to see this process to repeat itself.

Once the flowers close, about half of them produce ripened fruit in about 35 days after the first blossoms appear.  Today, as in frontier times and before, the flowers and fruit of many cactus are used for food.  A great number of recipes are modern adaptations to the ways desert fruits and flowers were used by Native Americans in the past.

So, what types of foods are flowers and fruits used for?  Flower petals can be added to salads; ripened fruit can be made into jelly, candy, soup, pudding, even pancakes, or used to make a salad dressing.

What holds this giant up?  Good question.  They have woody, flute-like ribs which appear when the plant is about seven years old.  Young plants have approximately 10 to 13 ribs, while the number of ribs increase with age, until there are 20 to 30 ribs in the stem and 15 or more in the arms.  Because sagauros are 90 percent water, these ribs must support a great amount of weight.  Once these giants have fallen, withered and dried, we can see its remnants, the ribs, as we drive down the road.

Again, it's against the law to even gather these ribs without permission.  In olden days, it was common to see shelters, fencing, furniture and other household items made from the sagauro ribs.  Today, with permission, one can gather these up to make souveniers for tourists (walking sticks, wall decorations, etc.).  It's not unusual to find saguaro ribs in public buildings such as cafes, restaurants, motels, etc.  

Does a falling saguaro make noise if no one is around?  Does the ground shake when it hits the dirt?  What do you think?  We know this much; if you have your car parked near a falling, older saguaro, it WILL be crushed by the weight of the cactus!  Our newspapers depict such misfortunes every once in a while.  So, the lesson to learn from this is to never park too close to a tall saguaro.  (Hmm.  With that in mind, what do you think would happen to a house if such an event occurred?  We hope that you're able to figure that out on your own by this point.)

Well, that's your lesson on saguaro cactus in the state of Arizona.  We hope you found this interesting.  Through a search of the internet, you can find additional information on saguaros, as well as other varieties of cactus.

Here are some fun  and interesting sites you may want to visit:

  Be sure to check out our "Personal Hot Topics" about a couple of endangered friends.

Please meet 

(Betsy Purp-ee), or  (Fish-ee Purp-ee), or  (Love-ee Purp-ee)???

rock.  Yes, a rock!   How about?  Or, ? ?  More can be found at Billy Bear's site.  Click the below logo to find out more about purple beans and pet rocks.

  Don't forget to sign our guestbook.