Saguaro is an iconic symbol of the Sonoran desert (7). Saguaro generally grow very slowly, but are long-lived. Seeds germinating in protected locations beneath “nurse trees” establish best. Ultimately, saguaro outlive the nurse plants and may overtake the tree roots by intercepting rainfall (7,8). Saguaro begin to flower between 40 and 75 years of age, and grow arms between 50 and 100 years (8). Saguaros are bat, bird and bee-pollinated and the large red fruits are consumed by birds, especially doves, who disperse seeds (8). The plant provides shelter for nesting birds, especially woodpeckers, Elf Owls and often other birds occupy abandoned nests (8).Several animals also make use of the saguaro in the wild (3). Additionally, many species of wildlife consume the fruits of the saguaro, and it is important to the ecosystems within the Sonoran desert (4).
Native Americans have been known to use the saguaro cactus for several different uses. The saguaro is extremelyimportant to the people of the Sonoran desert. Fruits, which ripen in summer during period of food scarcity preceding monsoons, were used as a food source by Pima, O’odham, and Yavapai (8,9). The seeds are made into a butter or used in cakes. The Saguaro has special Tohono O’odham significance as their calendar begins and ends based on fruiting time (“Saguaro Harvest Moon”, right after the “Painful Moon”), and Saguaro wine was served ceremonially to celebrate the upcoming monsoons (8). Others ritually discard the outer fruit wall onto the ground facing upward, to encourage rain (9). Ribs were not only used for harvesting fruit but also as a building material, shelter framework, roofing and firewood (4, 8).
