"Watermelon Tree" freak saguaro, Sahuaro National Monument, Arizona, circa 1941
- Card type
- Linen
- Date
- c. 1941 (Linen)
About this postcard
The card shows a saguaro with an unusually dense, clustered crown of short, melon-shaped arms, standing against a desert sky with flowering shrubs and a reddish tree behind it. The printed caption calls it the "Watermelon Tree," a "Freak Sahuaro, Giant Cactus," and says it is "the only known one of its kind in existence." It stands near the entrance to Sahuaro National Monument in Arizona, an older spelling of saguaro. The monument, now Saguaro National Park, was established in 1933 to protect the saguaro country outside Tucson, and abnormal specimens like this one were popular desert roadside curiosities.
Postcard Details
No address detected
Postcard record
| Publisher | Curteich |
|---|---|
| Series | D-60 1B-H960 |
| Condition | Very good |
| Place mentioned | Sahuaro National Monument, AZ |
| Publisher | Curteich, Chicago, IL |
| Notes | Linen-texture stock with visible crosshatch grain; yellow border around the image; printed number "1B-H960" along the right edge. Unused card, no postmark, no handwriting. Divided-back linen-era Curteich (C.T. Art-Colortone) postcard with cream border; light soiling and faint foxing on the back, corners slightly worn. |
Cite this card
"Watermelon Tree" freak saguaro, Sahuaro National Monument, Arizona, circa 1941, postcard, c. 1941. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/watermelon-tree-freak-saguaro-sahuaro-national-monument-ariz. Accessed November 2, 2026.