", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saguaro&oldid=979521194, Plants used in traditional Native American medicine, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014, All articles containing potentially dated statements, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from February 2020, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from February 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Taxonbars with automatically added basionyms, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. to examine the relationship of carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in the tissues of spines of an individual to its climate and photosynthetic history (acanthochronology). 4 kg (8.8 lb) of fruit will yield about 1 L (0.26 U.S. gal) of syrup. [59][35] Though the geographic anomaly has lessened in recent years, Western films once enthusiastically placed saguaros in the Monument Valley of Arizona, as well as New Mexico, Utah, and Texas. [4] No confirmed specimens of wild saguaros have been found anywhere in New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Utah, or Nevada, nor in the high deserts of northern Arizona. [51], Contrary to published statements,[52] no law mandates prison sentences of 25 years for cutting a cactus down; however, it is considered a class-four felony with a possible 3-year, 9-month maximum sentence. [36] The fruits are eaten by the white-winged dove and ants, so that seeds rarely escape to germinate.

They continue to produce nectar after sunrise. [25], The saguaro genome is around 1 billion base pairs long. While the ribs of dead plants are not protected by the Arizona native plant law, the Arizona Department of Agriculture has released a memo discussing when written permission is needed before harvesting them because of the importance the decomposition of cactus remains in maintaining desert soil fertility.

[33] The specific epithet gigantea refers to its formidable size. The trunk of the cactus then also fell on him.
(H): Destruction of protected plants by private landowners; notice; exception", "Only On Hold Strange Laws Still On The Books In Arizona", "Safety of native plants protected under Arizona law", "The Texanist: There Ain't No Saguaro Cactus in Texas. [44] In recent years, early breeding, aggressive, non-native birds have taken over the nests to the detriment of elf owls that breed and nest later.

[4], The saguaro features prominently in indigenous folklore and religions.

[14]:326, The spines on a saguaro are extremely sharp and can grow up to 1 mm (0.039 in) per day. Rising daytime and nighttime temperatures will reduce the water use efficiency of saguaros, forcing them to use more water and making them more likely to die during drought periods. of Agriculture memo on harvesting Saguaro ribs", 10.1894/0038-4909(2005)050[0513:SSPBSS]2.0.CO;2, 10.1890/0012-9615(2001)071[0511:SDCCAT]2.0.CO;2, "The evolution of bat pollination: a phylogenetic perspective", "SGP5_Cgig_v1.3 - Genome - Assembly - NCBI", "Exceptional reduction of the plastid genome of saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea): Loss of the ndh gene suite and inverted repeat", "George Engelmann - Scientist of the Day", "A farewell to dated ideas and concepts: molecular phylogenetics and a revised suprageneric classification of the family Cactaceae", "Saguaro cactus: 8 things you might not know", "Where Saguaros Grow - Saguaro National Park (U.S. National Park Service)", "Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, and Band-tailed Pigeon: 2009 population status", "AZGFD spots first documented bald eagle nest in saguaro", "Bald Eagles, Eaglets Found Nesting in Arms of Arizona Cactus", "Private Landowners Clearing Protected Native Plants", "Arizona Revised Statutes, A.R.S. They may grow their first side arm around 75–100 years of age, but some never grow any arms. Saguaro … [14]:320, The saguaro is a keystone species, and provides food, shelter, and protection to hundreds of other species.

Copious volumes of fruit are harvested; an example harvest in 1929 yielded 45,000 kg (99,000 lb) among 600 families. [31], The common name is a Spanish adaptation of a Tohono Oʼodham word. These bands have been correlated to daily growth.

[15], The spines may cause significant injury to animals; one paper reported that a bighorn sheep skull had been penetrated by a saguaro spine after the sheep collided with a saguaro. [3][4], The growth rate of saguaros is strongly dependent on precipitation; saguaros in drier western Arizona grow only half as fast as those in and around Tucson. As many as 49 arms may grow on one plant.

[citation needed] In 2020, a bald eagle was found nesting in a saguaro for the first time since 1937. It is also extremely flammable, but survives fire easily due to deep root systems. Saguaros grow slowly from seed, and may only be 0.25 in (0.64 cm) tall after 2 years.

Main pollinators are honey bees, bats, and white-winged doves. Honey bees were the greatest contributors. [37] White-winged doves are important pollinators, visiting blooms more often than any other bird species. Like several other highly specialized plant taxa, such as the carnivorous Genlisea and parasitic Cuscuta, the saguaro has lost the ndh plastid gene, which codes for production of NADPH dehydrogenase pathway, but unlike those taxa, the saguaro remains fully autotrophic; i.e. [9], The utility of the saguaro was well known to Native Americans such as the Tohono Oʼodham, Pima, and Seri peoples, who still use nearly every part of the plant. [39] The Tohono O'odham use long sticks to harvest the fruits, which are then made into a variety of products including jams, syrups, and wine. it does not eat or steal part of its food. This often means that the pulp dries out into a dark, congealed mass …

Every stage of the saguaro's life sustains a significant number of species, from seedling to after its death. Their breeding cycle coincides with that of the saguaro blooming. It was 78 ft (23.8 m) in height before it was toppled in 1986 by a windstorm. Claw marks on the flower indicate pollination by a bat. [10], Some saguaros grow in rare formations called a cristate, or "crested" saguaro. [19] A well-pollinated fruit contains several thousand tiny seeds. [6][7] The tallest saguaro ever measured was an armless specimen found near Cave Creek, Arizona. Uses of Saguaro fruit The fruits was a main source of food for the people of Papago and also for the Pima Indians, the method of fruit processing takes place which involves drying, fermenting, canning and finally stored all the year for usage. [54] Buffelgrass outcompetes saguaros for water, and grows densely. However, spines that remain embedded may cause inflammatory granuloma. David Grundman was shooting and poking at a saguaro cactus in an effort to make it fall. [34] The Tohono O'odham begin their harvest in June. An arm of the cactus, weighing 500 lb (230 kg), fell onto him, crushing him and his car. Seeds must wait 12–14 months before germination; lack of water during this period drastically reduces seedling survival.

][by whom?] [4] The Tohono O'odham use it for making fences and furniture. Since they form only at the top of the plant and the tips of branches, saguaros growing numerous branches is reproductively advantageous. [14]:320, Arizona made the saguaro blossom its territorial flower on March 13, 1901, and on March 16, 1931, it became the state flower. They are also pressed for their oils.

[18], The primary nocturnal pollinator is the lesser long-nosed bat, feeding on the nectar. When the saguaro dies and its soft flesh rots, the callus remains as a so-called saguaro boot, which was used by natives for storage.

When houses or highways are built, special permits must be obtained to move or destroy any saguaro affected. Drezner TD (2005) Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea, Cactaceae) growth rate over its American range and the link to summer precipitation. [21] A decline in bat populations causes more daytime flower openings, which favors other pollinators. This growth formation is believed to be found in one in roughly 10,000 saguaros, with 2743 known crested saguaros documented. [37], Gila woodpeckers (Melanerpes uropygialis) create new nest holes each season rather than reuse the old ones, leaving convenient nest holes for other birds, such as elf owls, tyrant flycatchers, and wrens. [14]:323, Reports of saguaro use date back to the Coronado expeditions of 1540–1542, which noted its use in winemaking.

Saguaros can survive a few hours of below-freezing temperatures.

[45][46], Harming or vandalizing a saguaro in any manner, such as shooting them (sometimes known as "cactus plugging")[47] is illegal by state law in Arizona.
White-winged doves are important pollinators, visiting blooms more often than any other bird species. [14]:324–326, The seeds are ground into meal or eaten raw, but the raw seeds are mostly indigestible. The task of picking Saguaro fruit is sometimes frustrating and messy, she says, because the fruits do not all ripen at the same time and often, the birds and ants often get there first. [27], The saguaro is the only species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea.

[29] The next major taxonomic treatment came from The Cactaceae, the seminal work on cactus by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose. Southwest Nat 50:65–68. For desert white-winged doves, 60% or more of their diet is saguaro-based. [37] Cactus boots, excavated by gilded flickers and taken from dead saguaros, have been used by native peoples as water containers. The saguaro provides voluminous amounts of pollen, nectar, and fruits. [4][3], Saguaros have a very large root network that can extend up to 30 m (98 ft), and long taproots of up to 1 m (3.3 ft) deep. The resulting nest cavity is deep, and the parents and young are entirely hidden from view.