The picture shows two large columnar cacti standing in rocky Arizona desert scrub beneath a pale sky. The left plant is a typical saguaro with upright arms, while the right is a massive crested form whose top spreads into a convoluted, fan-like crown. The printed caption calls them "two species of giant cactus"; the crested specimen is actually a rare growth form of the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), not a separate species.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
Dear Bamma Clara: I did
appreciate and enjoy
the thought expressed
by your pretty Christmas
card. Next time, write a
line to tell me how you are
also about sister & Dorothy
& 85 here, so you are we are
not suffering with cold. I am
much better. Hope you are
all well. Shall always love
you and remember your
kindness. Affectionately, Florence.
White border; visible linen-texture screen; small dark spot in sky at upper right; printed number 33334 at lower right.
Postmark: [illegible]ON DEC 21 4 30 PM 1933. Divided-back linen-texture card with white border; light corner/edge wear, stamp partly torn at right.
Cite this card
Two species of giant cactus, Arizona, circa 1940, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/two-species-of-giant-cactus-arizona-circa-1940. Accessed October 25, 2026.
