Cacti at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Continuing my series of posts from our Southwest trip this summer, I’d like to take you back to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM) outside of Tucson and show you some of many cacti growing there.

The most famous plant of the Sonora desert is the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) and they are everywhere on the west side of Tucson. This is what you see as you crest Gates Pass:

Gates Pass, Tucson, AZ

Inside the ASDM, there are plenty of opportunities to see saguaros as well:

Saguaros reaching into the sky

Juvenile saguaros in front of ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)

Unbranched saguaro (50+ years old) amidst other cacti

More young saguaros

However, the most common type of cactus, both inside the ASDM and outside, is the prickly pear in its various incarnations. Judging by the number of fruits on some specimens, the blooms must have been spectacular this past spring. The fruit, often called tuna after its Spanish name, is frequently used to make jam and candy.

Opuntia engelmannii with dark red fruit

Opuntia engelmannii with purple fruit

Opuntia engelmannii with purple fruit

Opuntia littoralis (according to the plant tag but it doesn’t look much different from the
Opuntia engelmannii above)

According to the ASDM Sonoran Desert Digital Library, there are many other Opuntia species in the park but I’m not enough of an expert to identify them by sight.

Therefore, let’s move on to other cactus genera and species that were clearly labeled. That makes life much easier for lay people like me! Plus, the goal of this post is to show you the beauty of cacti, not to be an encyclopedic resource.

Similar to the Agave Garden (featured in this post), all plants in the Cactus Garden are native to the Sonora desert and the adjacent biotopes interpreted by the ASDM.

Cactus Garden entrance

A veritable cactus smörgåsbord

Ferocactus rectispinus

LEFT: Ferocactus cylindraceus
RIGHT: Ferocactus diguetii

Ferocactus peninsulae

Ferocactus emoryi

Ferocactus emoryi

Ferocactus emoryi

Echinocereus nicholii

Echinocereus nicholii

Echinocereus engelmannii

Echinocereus brandegeei

Stenocereus eruca

Stenocereus eruca

Stenocereus eruca

Bergerocactus emoryi

Organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi). Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
southwest of Tucson has spectacular stands of this cactus.

Stenocereus thurberi

Lophocereus schottii, regular form

Lophocereus schottii, monstrose form,
commonly called “totem pole cactus”

Cylindropuntia thurberi

 

LEFT: Cylindropuntia × fosbergii
RIGHT: Cylindropuntia bigelovii

As painful as a cholla (Cylindropuntia sp.) encounter can be for a human, birds seem to have no problems getting up close, as evidenced by this nest.

Bird’s nest in a cholla

I admire chollas from a distance, for the obvious reasons, but this cholla skeleton is completely harmless—and beautiful.

Cholla skeleton

But the most fun cactus in the entire Desert Museum has got to be this one:

 

Organ pipe cactus fountain next to the Warden Oasis Theater

Believe me, when it’s close to 100°F, even a splash of water makes a difference :-).

RELATED POSTS:

• Agaves at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• Other treasures at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum