Thursday, July 8, 2021

Crested Saguaro and Unusual Blooms

 

Today I have two rare events in one photo!  

Crested saguaros are caused by a mutation in the cells of a growing  saguaro that cause the cactus to form a fan-like crown at the top of the main stem.  This one is at the Desert Botanical Garden.  

There is another unusual thing about his cactus.  This spring, ecologists noticed that many saguaro cacti were  sprouting buds down the side of the arms.  This is very unusual.  Saguaro usually only bloom at the very tip of each arm.  

University of Arizona researchers think this might be a sign of distress to the cacti because of record heat combined with a long drought in the west.  

It was so strange to see all those buds down the arms of the cactus this last spring.  

13 comments:

biebkriebels said...

It looks almost like an artpiece!

William Kendall said...

That would make sense.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

That is an amazing sight Sharon, the fan shape at the top is most curious. Gosh imagine if a cactus is struggling with the heat, how will the more delicate plants survive!

Travel said...

Glad you shared this, I have never seen those formations

RedPat said...

That crest is really weird looking, Sharon!

Steve Reed said...

How strange, on both counts. I've never seen anything like it!

Bill said...

The crest is amazing, looks like a piece of art.

Andy said...

Oh my! What a sight. Climate change seems to be effecting every thing?

Gemel said...

Incredible. I have a cactus in my garden much like this one.

Catalyst said...

(o)

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Thanks for a very interesting post. Seems like everything is stressed these days, not just us humans!

Maggid said...

I have never seen a cactus look like this . . . amazing.
It looks wonderful - so, it's sad to know it's in distress . . .
Thank you for taking the time to share it.

Thérèse said...

Thank you for sharing this anomality!