Large Cactus
Cactus family diversity means that species height can range between a few inches to sixty feet in height.
The following three cactus fit the large cactus category.
| More Types of Cactus Types of Cactus Types of Flowers |
Growing up to sixty feet tall, the Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) ranks as the largest cactus in the United States.
They are native to the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. The picture shows an average saguaro that stands around the twenty something foot mark.
Well known for its human appearance, the branches often grow out looking like waving arms atop a mature stem.
Gila woodpeckers and other cavity nesting birds commonly call Saguaro cacti home. Other desert wildlife use the saguaro for food and shelter.
Organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi), large ribbed cactus, often grow in clusters that resemble organ pipes.
Like the Saguaro, Organ pipes thrive in the Sonoran Desert region of northern Mexico and Southern Arizona, home to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
They are night bloomers and are pollinated by bats.
The scientific name for the Totem Pole cactus, schottii f. monstrosus, pretty much gives away the fact that it is characterized by height.
It is a large and mostly spineless columnar cactus native to the Baja. It can be found growing both wild and used as a landscaping plant in the southern most parts of the desert Southwest.
The picture shows its bumpy skin and its penchant to grow in small clusters.
© 2004-2012 Patricia A. Michaels.