saguaro

The greater abundance of saguaros on south and east aspects in 1908 was consistent throughout the 85-yr study (Table 1).

Prickly pears, saguaros, and most other cactuses have shallow roots that grow right under the sandy surface.

A mid the majestic saguaros, giant agaves, and natural grandeur of the Grand Canyon State, a ballet company formed by a board of trustees who agreed to disagree eleven years ago is making artistic strides as gutsy as the gentleman's agreement that brought it into existence.

It isn't always easy for elf owls to find homes in the prickly saguaros. The birds do not peck out their own holes but try to find empty ones that were made by woodpeckers.

An unexplained, accelerating die-off of the Arizona saguaros, preceded by a browning and thickening of the outer flesh (cuticle) and the loss of spines, may result from an increased exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) rays as the stratospheric ozone layer thins, says ecologist Kate Lajtha at Boston University.

* Saguaros don't begin sprouting arms until they're at least 50 years old.

Saguaros (cereus giganteus) are Arizona's signature cactus and grow only in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, southeastern California, and northern Mexico.

That's great for the cactuses, because they need pollen from other saguaros to make seeds.

* DO Hike the Peralta Trail past saguaros and dramatic boulder stacks to Fremont Saddle, 5 miles round-trip.

Mazier, who oversees the care of 886 saguaros at the Garden, recommended the so-called "box technique," in which a tree's roots and soil are encased in a box that features eight vertical support beams.

The cactus forest is indeed unforgettable, especially in spring, when the park's namesake saguaros come into full bloom--a magical sight, not least because it's so ephemeral.