Although there is a large variety of cacti, the Saguaro species is the tallest of them all. Whenever we picture a cactus in our minds we commonly think about his iconic desert giant the Sauguro. This magnificent plant can grow over forty feet tall and have up to twenty-five arms. Its scientific name is interestingly enough named after the American Steel legend Andrew Carnegie; Monotypic Genus Carnegiea.
A larger number of these cacti do not ever grow arms and are called “spears”. This is because the average time it takes these cacti to grow an arm is between seventy-five and one-hundred years. The lifespan is only about one-hundred-fifty years.
Like most tall plants their roots often exceed the length of the actual plant. The tallest Saguaro ever found was a Spear found in Arizona. This cactus was over 78 feet tall, weighed over 4500 pounds, and had a girth over ten feet round.
During the spring you can find beautiful white flowers blooming from the body. After the flowers leave, small red fruit begins to grow. These tiny fruits are small but contain thousands of seeds. Many ancient Indian tribes prized these cactus fruits. Not only do the Saguara produce fruit, but they also are the home form many desert birds.