Organ Pipe Cactus Abstract

by Douglas Taylor

Title

Organ Pipe Cactus Abstract

Artist

Douglas Taylor

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Photography

Description

This photograph looks down upon the top of an Organ Pipe (Stenocereus thurberi) cactus stem. Made in May, the photo shows the organ pipe cactus during its growing season. The growth is evidenced by the vivid red areoles producing new spines. The cactus only grows from the top center which is why the red pigment. Though the stems have straight ribs, the tip shows a spiral growth pattern. The cactus top is then densely covered by fine new spines come winter, which helps insulate the tender tips from freezing. They will also help shade the tip from sunburn in the heat of the Sonoran Desert summer.

This cactus species grows slowly with many stems sprouting from the base of a single trunk. Mature plants may have dozens of 6-inch diameter stems and grow to heights between 16 and 30 feet when it can be over 12 feet in diameter. By the time it reaches this size it may be well over 150 years of age. The cactus blooms only at night with a funnel shaped white flower that may be tinged with pink or purple. But it evidently happens after it is at least 50 years of age, because this plant has just this year begun to bloom.

This photograph was made in the lower reaches of the Tucson Mountains near Tucson, Arizona. The cactus is not regarded as native here, though I have seen a couple of others within the range, even though it is susceptible to disfiguring damage from freezing temperatures . It is famous for being the common stem succulent at the Organ Pipe National Monument southwest of Tucson along the Mexican border, and its range is on the rocky hills of southern Arizona down into the state of Sonora, Mexico.

Uploaded

June 18th, 2023

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