Saguaro cactus blossoms, Phoenix, AZ, circa 1930

About this postcard

A close view of saguaro cactus blossoms, white petals around yellow centers, clustered at the tip of a ribbed green stem, with a bee working among the open flowers. The printed caption calls the plant the "Giant Cactus (Sahuaro)," an old spelling of the name still common on Southwestern cards. The saguaro grows only in the Sonoran Desert around Phoenix and southern Arizona. Its flowers open at night and stay open into the following day, so daytime visitors like the bee in this picture share the work with the bats and doves that pollinate the blooms after dark. The flowers appear in late spring at the ends of arms that may have taken decades to grow.