5.19.2007...Botanical Lessons

Hi all. Just a quick series of photos. This is a saguaro cactus in our front yard. The unusual thing about it is.....these giant things flower every year. Each flower only opens one time. They open up overnight and close 18 hours later. I didn't know this until I moved here. I also didn't know that they won't flower until the saguaro is at least 35 years old and they won't grow that characteristic arm until they are at least 75 years old! So we know that this saguaro is somewhere between 35 and 75 years old. It's about 10-12' tall. They can grow up to 75'. Anyway, that's the botanical lesson for the day (week, month, year, etc..).