Tucson - is a spread-out city of about 550,000 population. It for sure has "Mexican flair", traffic is different (more European), food is different, landscape is different. The city is home to the nation's largest cacti: the giant saguaro, protected by Saguaro National Park (panorama above). There are two park units, to the east and west, plus, the Tucson Mountain Park.
Main symbol of this part of the desert is the
saguaro, also known as the giant cactus, Carnegiea gigantea. It only grows in the
Sonoran Desert and has been an
iconic symbol of the American southwest for ages. Some of them reach a
height of 50 feet and roots spread out about the same in length around the cactus. At 35 years of age, it begins to produce flowers, branches normally
begin to appear when a saguaro reaches 60 to 75 years of age. The average life span of
a saguaro is probably 150 - 175 years, but even "dead" the wooden ribs (right photo below) were still of use (and probably still are?).
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| On a hike through a wash |
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| Hike with a view |
Saguaro National Park is located within a desert, plants here are adapted to drought, they conserve the little water they get. The varied elevation within the park allows for a great variety of different species. Unfortunately, it was too early in the season and none of the cacti were blooming yet, but, definitively, the rain last week had done them good. There are plenty of other cacti and plants, e.g. Fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii), Staghorn cholla cactus (Opuntia versicolor), hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus fendleri), Engelman's pricklypear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii), Teddybear cholla cactus (Opuntia bigelovii), Chainfruit cholla cactus (Opuntia fulgida), and many, many more.
At least, we found some plants in bloom already: a Scarlet Hedge Nettle/Stachys coccinea (left) and a Fairy Duster/Calliandra eriophylla (right):
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| Fishhook Barrel Cactus with fruit |
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| Corkyseed Fishhook Cactus (above) |
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