Pachycereus pringlei is the scientific name for Cardon Cactus. It is also know as Cardon, Elephant Cactus and Mexican Giant Cactus. It is related to the Saguaro, but since it is not native to AZ, it is not listed in any of the AZ cactus references.
It is native of central Baja California. The Cardon from Baja California looks like the Saguaro of Arizona but grows somewhat thicker and does fine under more humid conditions that would kill the Arizona giant cactus. The Cardon is susceptible to frost which may occur in AZ. It is named after Cyrus Guernsey Pringle [1838-1911].
Flowers with large white waxy petals are scattered along the top meter or so of each branch. It flowers only when mature, the white flowers are 3 inches long (8 cm), and come in the spring.
From March until the end of June, brilliant flowers appear all over the Cardon Cactus. They are mainly seen on the southern side on the tips of the most upper stems. These unique flowers open late in the afternoon through the night and close in the morning. They open once, for 24 hours.
Nectar-feeding bats are responsible for nightly pollination. The flowers are bell-shaped and white with a thick pollen coating around the rim.
The Cardon Cactus is native to San Felipe and the largest of its kind in the world. These stately specimens can live to be 300 years old, 70 feet tall and weigh 25 tons!
The main trunk often has at least 25 branches that extend vertically from it, reaching sizes of 5 feet around. As the Cardon Cactus ages, it cracks, wrinkles and turns a grayish shade so it easy to see which plants are young from those who have been standing a couple of centuries.
The Cardon Cactus is massive. Unlike the Saguaro Cactus it branches freely from the base. Not found naturally in Arizona, but there are a few planted at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.
It is easy to identify older cacti of this variety as the lower trunks turn gray, wrinkle and crack and closely resemble the legs of an elephant. The vertical ribs underneath the cactus are similar to an accordion which allows it to store an unbelievable amount of water to survive the dry desert conditions.
The primary trunk often has over 25 branches extending from it vertically that are up to 5 feet around. When the cardón cactus is young, it is exceptionally spiny which offers it protection from predators. The spines gradually fall off as the specimen matures but few are actually replaced.
There are a lot of seeds spread due to the bats feeding on the fruit. Also, quite a few varieties of birds feed on it as well. The fruit is about golf ball size with fuzzy, golden spines on the outside. Quite often, the fruit simply splits open on its own, revealing the red, sweet flesh.
Every piece of fruit contains an impressive 800 seeds that are consumed by the birds and bats. This is crucial to the growth of new cacti in the area. The seeds need to be roughed up quite a bit for them to actually crack open and then sprout. Digestive juices from the bird’s stomach take care of this.
In even the most perfect conditions, it takes thousands of germinated seeds to produce one cardón cactus. Growth is exceptionally slow and it takes decades for one to be even the size of a small shrub.
OK. Now you all know as much about the Cardon Cactus as I do, thanks to 4 or 5 Goggled pages about Cardon Cactus. I hear there is a flowering saguaro nearby. I might take a peek in the next couple of days, so stay tuned...
**All of the photos in this post came from researched Goggle pages on the topic. They are not my photos.
Very, very interesting!
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