Page 42 - Edible Trees For Tucson

Saguaro

Carnegiea gigantea Cactaceae

D ESCRIPTI O N
Saguaro is an arborescent-stemmed cactus.
Stems are simple and have one to several lateral
curving, erect branches. Trunks have prominent
ribs with rows of clumped, stout spines. Flowers
are white and showy, and appear on the branch
tips in spring. Saguaro fruits are red to purple,
ellipsoid, oblong, and contain as many as 2,500
seeds. Saguaro cacti are a valuable resource for
desert wildlife; birds depend on saguaros for
water and nutrition in the driest, hottest times of
year, just before the summer monsoons.
E THN O B O T ANI CAL N O TES

• Saguaro occurs throughout most of the
Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona and
northwestern Mexico.
• Saguaro fruits were a major food staple of
Southwestern tribes, and they have a unique
cultural role in the Tohono O’odham tribe.
Tohono O’odham peoples harvest and
process saguaro fruits for food and wine in
preparation for the annual rain ceremony.
Saguaro ribs are used as building material for
fences, ramadas, homes, and in ceremonial
roundhouses. Symbols indicating important
events are carved on saguaro ribs as “calendar
sticks.”
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