With Christmas marketing now underway all across the country, we’re all deluged in snowflakes, snowmen and Santa’s big white snowy beard. So for a bit of a change, why don’t we go have a look at a plant which can survive in the most hot and arid environments on earth…
The Saguaro cactus is found in the Sonoran desert, stretching from Arizona in the USA into Mexico. If you think of the cactuses in the desert in classic American cartoons such as Roadrunner – or, more recently, Rango – you’re probably imagining a Saguaro.
A Saguaro cactus can have up to twenty-five arms, bending upwards from a central trunk. These hardy plants stick around, too – it’s thought that a Saguaro can survive for up to 150-200 years given the right conditions.
They grow amazingly slowly – a ten-year-old Saguaro may be only 1.5 inches tall! But given enough time, a Saguaro may grow to magnificent heights – up to 60 feet tall!
