THE BEAUTIES OF THE SONORAN DESERT

PONDERING THE FLOWERING CACTI...
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By E. Levi Brake

A few evenings ago I was sitting on my back
porch overlooking the patio, sipping a glass of
wine after dinner and contemplating the foibles of
mankind, as the saying goes, and looking at the
wide arroyo beyond.

I happened to notice the many saguaro cacti in the
arroyo and up the hillside beyond.  There were over
fifty when I gave up counting. The saguaros are in
bloom this time of year.

One plant can have 15 to 20 small white night-
blooming blossoms clustered together and perched
right at the top. After the blossoms wither, each bud
will produce a small sweet red fruit which the Indians
once harvested for food, and perhaps still do.

Since the saguaro can grow to be well over 50 feet
tall, they had to be pretty innovative to tie long poles
together to gather the fruit. The saguaro is the most
interesting plant I have ever known.

All the desert cacti are interesting and all have beautiful
flowers in the spring. There is a particularly ugly cactus
called the "hedgehog" cactus. It is so-called because its
spiny bristles resemble a hedgehog.

It is short, perhaps 12-14 inches tall at best and consists
of several branches growing up from one base. This ugly
little thing has a most beautiful flower. I am not an expert
on colors but I would describe it as being a deep red, mixed
with violet and with purple shades.

What a treat each year when these blossoms appear.
Unfortunately, javelina enjoy eating the flowers so many
times, that they disappear soon after flowering. That
happened to one which is just over my patio in the
arroyo...this year.
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FOR MIL'S
By E. Levi Brake, CHS '51
Guest Writer
May 8, 2015
Ajo, Arizona