Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Crested Saguaro with Bird Nests

This is a very unique crested Saguaro cactus that has many bird holes burrowed into it.  

Saguaro cacti are home to many critters and the bird nests, surprisingly, do not harm the Saguaro. Cactus Wrens and Gila Woodpeckers often make their home in Saguaros.

I used the term crested but the term used to describe the undulating folds in the cactus instead of the typical arms being produced is Fasciation. Fasciation is caused by mutation of cells, infection or chemical or mechanical damage to a plant.  In some plants it is an inherited trait.  Seeing these crested saguaros is rare. 

Compare today's photo with the photo of a normal Saguaro, which I previously posted.

28 comments:

Trojan Gordon said...

A very interesting picture, I have never seen a cactus quite like this. I would be interested to see more pictures like this, especially one in macro.

Buenos Aires Photoblog said...

What a bizarre-shaped cactus! This is definitely the weirdest cactus I've ever seen. Good picture, by the way, it looks gigantic!

Olivier said...

il semble très torturé comme cactus, c'est bien chaque cactus est différent, cela fait de beaux paysages

it seems very tortured like cactus, cacti each well is different, it's make a beautiful landscapes

Jilly said...

My goodness, I thought the Jardin Exotique had some amazing plants, this surpasses anything...extraordinary and fabulous.

josé luis said...

It´s very original. Curious ways reminiscent of the head of an animal. Nature is a great artist.

Jim Klenke said...

You are always finding the neatest things to photograph. This kinda looks like bullwinkle.

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

The crested top provides a much larger area for birds to burrow into for a nest. Saguaros are popular nesting sites because the moisture stored inside makes them much cooler than the surrounding hot desert air.

cieldequimper said...

Wow, I had no idea that birds would have nests like these! It's a beautiful cactus.

Kate said...

What an amazing difference between the two photos (I'm referring to the link). I appreciate not only the pictures but the commentary you add...such good information. I find the strange "growth" fascinating, and how wonderful that the cacti can act as housing for birds! Clearly, and unusual bird tenement!

B SQUARED said...

An amazing "freak" of nature. Very beautiful.

brattcat said...

Fascinating photograph. I love the green growth across the top. It gives me much to think about.

Debbie Courson Smith said...

Is this one at the Botanical Gardens? I must have missed it when I was there las tmonth. But Chihuly was distracting me..

Unknown said...

This one is amazing! I have two crested Euphorbias but pretty small compared to the Saguaro... Great shot!

Sharon said...

Great shot. The first time I saw one of these I thought it was deformed and I guess in a way, it is.

Judy said...

One of my favorite.

VP said...

Wonderful post, great image of an extraordinary cactus!

Unknown said...

Fascinating post about cactus, and a beautiful photo to go along with it :-)

Lois said...

Oh wow...more bird nests! That is a very interesting cactus.

glenda said...

Yesterday's post reminds me of anEaster Egg hunt. The cacti photo is really unique. Lots of birds nest space.

april said...

I've never seen such an extraordinary cactus. I t looks like a strange tree with little cacti on it. Phantastic nature.

Emma Bond said...

This is incredible... and it looks huge!

GreensboroDailyPhoto said...

Love to learn about a city from our blogs. That is one of the best parts about participating. Are they sure this cactus is not a mutation or hybrid?

Pat said...

I love saguaros. Yes, I do. But, I don't like the crested ones.

Lowell said...

Fascinating. I can't remember seeing that kind of cactus.

Mo said...

This is the kind of quirky I absolutely love finding. Dozens more photos could be taken of this cactus.

Anonymous said...

Most excellent! Great photo of a facsinating specimen.

Jackie said...

That is an amazing cactus! I bet it's quite a sight in the flesh!

airplane5312 said...

Such interesting plant life you have in Arizona.

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