Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose saguaro or giant cactus

Abstract

Saguaro - Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose - has the northernmost distribution of any of the large, columnar cacti of the tropical and subtropical Americas. Formerly regarded as a member of the genus Cereus, it is now considered the single species of its own genus, Carnegiea. It is a principal indicator species of the Sonoran Desert and is found at elevations below 1,200 m from extreme southeastern California east to south central Arizona and south into northern Sonora (Kearney and Peebles 1960; Munz 1964). Saguaro is an arborescent, sometimes branched, stem succulent that reaches 10 m in height. It is found primarily in desert upland communities with coarse, gravelly, well-drained soils.

Parent Publication

• The Woody Plant Seed Manual

Keywords

Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose, saguaro, giant cactus

Citation

Meyer, Susan E. 2008. Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose saguaro or giant cactus. In: Bonner, Franklin T.; Karrfalt, Robert P., eds. The Woody Plant Seed Manual. Agric. Handbook No. 727. Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. p. 324-325.