Moominmama's Adventures: Saguaro National Park

 

In which Moominmama learns to appreciate, but not touch, cacti, especially the noble Saguaro...

Cacti come in all shapes and sizes and range from the cute to the creepy. A barrel cactus typically grows up to look like R2D2. Some resemble piles of bocce balls. Prickly pear look like a pileup of Mickey Mouse ears with spikes. The teddy bear cholla drop from the parent plant in small spheres that could be mistaken for Tribbles (see Star Trek).

Come spring and summer, all these succulents can bloom in astonishing ways. And blooming or not, they each contribute to the ecosystem, providing all kinds of food and supplies for bugs, birds and other wildlife.

The major general of the cacti is the saguaro cactus, and Saguaro National Park protects many in combination with the county regional parks where my camping has led me. Tucson Mountain Park abuts the western parcel of Saguaro National Park so these sentinels stand tall all around me now.

A saguaro can grow up to 60 feet tall and live 150-200 years, but they take their time. It takes as long as 10 years for a saguaro seed to get to one and a half inches tall. Over time, as it gets established, it will grow a little faster. By age 15, a saguaro may be as high as a foot. But it can take 50 years before they sprout an arm. One of the reasons this cactus is protected is because its ability to reach maturity faces so many challenges.

The saguaro is well adapted to the specific conditions of the Sonoran desert with a core that holds water surrounded by a circle of strong wood poles and an accordion outer shell that can expand or contract depending on the level of moisture. 

Even though single fruit can have 2,000 to 3,000 seeds, not many make it to maturity. When one does, it's a function of the interrelationships in the desert.

The palo verde tree has trunks and arms in a vibrant spring green which allows it to photosynthesize along its body. As birds perch and poop from its branches, a baby saguaro can take root and use the tree as a "nurse plant" receiving shade and protection. You often see the saguaro alongside a palo verde or mesquite or another mother saguaro frequently. 

Every once in a while, the classic shape of a saguaro goes a little nuts and you can get a fan on the top. Or more commonly, arms that droop, likely due to frost or disease, and then circle back up toward the sun, creating strange shapes or circles.

But high winds can topple saguaros because they have a shallow root system. They also have no defense against fire, which is becoming more common and problematic because of the invasive "buffelgrass" The grass came here from Africa in the 1930s and was initially welcomed as drought-resistant fodder by ranchers. But it crowds out other plants, and most tragically for the saguaro, it burns hot.

The gila woodpecker is one of the local birds that pecks holes in the side of the saguaro to create a nest, and since it creates a new nest every year, the previous year's version gets occupied by other birds, including the tiny elf owl. The nest reaches down into the cactus where the water in its core controls the temperature for the fledglings. The saguaro seals this injury off with a charcoal-colored skin that allows the cactus to continue to grow.

The native people of this area, the O'odham, treated the saguaro as people and saw them a role models. They were upstanding and good providers.

Moominmama would have to stay until May or June to see the saguaro flower, but the blooms that grow at the very top and on its arms develop into remarkable fruits. A ranger told me that coyote dung is made up almost exclusively of saguaro seeds once the fruits start to drop on the ground.

They're also a product of the desert that has long fed humans as well. The cactus flesh itself not so much. Yes, the core holds liquid, but consuming it will make people sick as it contains oxalic acid, which many of the desert animals can tolerate but not us.

When a saguaro dies, the accordion green outer cover rots or is eaten by animals and fungi, revealing the narrow wooden strips that hold it upright and protect the water it contains within. The wood not only feeds a cooking fire but can be used in laying a roof.

So when the O'odham people talk about the saguaro as a good provider, this is another way it provides.

Hiking around the saguaros in and around Tucson is to be surrounded also by the brown mountains around the city. But entering into the landscape makes you realize the rocks are an astonishing assortment of colors: blood red, purple, rust and pink, blue-grey, sand and a coppery green even. 

You get a glimpse of the range of colors looking at this wall, the remains of a house that was absorbed in the the Tucson Mountain Regional Park.

Moominmama adores hiking in Arizona and is slowly learning not to reach out to grab anything that's not clearly a rock when she's concerned about her balance. Kneeling once to take a picture of a flower left several spikes embedded in her pants and shin, and she doesn't care to repeat the removal effort.

It looks to be a super bloom in the Sonoran desert this year. Tucson is at higher elevation than Phoenix so spring hasn't made it this far, but I hope to have some desert flower photos in future!

In the meantime, I struggle and fail to outrun winter -- though all of this melted very fast!