This crested saguaro is located near the entrance gate at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. The crest, a twisted, whorled, shell-like shape, is fairly rare. Another cactus with this type of formation is located in the thornscrub garden at the Desert Museum. It has a crest at the top and two normal sagauro side arms.
Some biologists think the formation might be the result of lightning strikes; another suppostition is that the plant's genetics causes the crested formation. Over twenty five crested saguaros have been found inside the boundaries of Saguaro National Park which is adjacent to the Desert Museum.
The variations of nature never fail to amaze me. I'm adding crested saguaros to my list of nature's wonders.
Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler
I have never seen anything like this. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteThere are even websites that post photos of crested sagauros. When you come visit we can hike to some of the cresteds in the national park. Very cool.
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