Saguaro – Pronounced suh-WAR-oh. In this country Carnegiea Gigantea is found only in Arizona. Towering 40 feet or more saguaros can weigh two tons and live as long as 200 years. Branching begins at about age 65. Leafless and spiny, saguaros are encased in a thick green waxy skin that retards evaporation and are vertically pleated to permit expansion when water is available. Saguaros are 90 percent water. Their creamy-white nocturnal flower ( Arizona ’s state flower), seldom lasting a second night, is pollinated by birds and bees by day, and bats by night. Half a dozen flowers will be seen by day for some 30 days. The saguaros scarlet fruit will ripen about 37 days after the first blossom appears. An average adult saguaro produces 100 fruits a year. Saguaros were a tree of life for the Indians of the Southwest, particularly for the Tohono O’odham, the Desert People. The fruit was converted into seed flower, jam, and syrup. Today they are considered treats, not necessities.