Plant of the week: Saguaro cactus

I made this last week:

Which prompted me to research the Saguaro a bit more and discover that they are only found in the Sonoran Desert, in southern Arizona, USA and Western Sonora, Mexico. Here's a handy map showing the Sonoran Desert in yellow:

The Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) is very appropriately latin named, as they can grow up to 18m tall, although they also grow very slowly; a ten year old Saguaro can be only 1.5 inches tall, so it's estimated that massive Saguaros can be up to 150-200 years old.

Some Saguaros never grow arms, which must be quite disappointing and make it difficult to catch buses. The stripey appearance of these plants is caused by woody 'ribs' that expand and contract as water is taken on and used, dead Saguaro 'ribs' are used - in a horror film fashion - for roofs/furniture/fences etc.

 
White flowers in late spring                                Red fruit in summer