Saguaro Cactus

Saguaro cacti, Carnegiea gigantea, only grow in the Sonoran Desert. Saguaro National Park protects some of the most impressive forests of these sub-tropical giants. Saguaros are generally found growing from sea level to approximately 4,000 feet in elevation. Tiny, young saguaros are very hard to find, as they grow under the protection of a "nurse tree," most often a palo verde, ironwood, or mesquite tree. Saguaro cacti are host to a great variety of animals, and archeological evidence indicates that the Hohokam people of the modern Tucson, Arizona, area used the saguaro in their daily lives. The present-day Tohono O'odham continue to gather saguaro fruit, using the sweet fruits to make the ceremonial wine, jelly, and candies, and the high-protein saguaro seeds as chicken feed.