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Web Database ID: 34
Title: Organ Pipe Cactus
Date Added: 2003-12-13
Keywords: Cereus thurberi, Stenocereus thurberi, Lemaireocereus thurberi, Pitahaya dulce (sweet cactus fruit)
Entered By: Anne Mills
Description: The Organ Pipe Cactus is a magnificent, tall, unbranched, columnar cactus that can reach heights of up to 8m (24'). Single stems grow out of a common base. In 1853 the United States purchased 112,756 square km (43,535 square miles) of land that included a portion of southern Arizona and it became Organ Pipe National Monument.
The flowers of the Organ Pipe cactus are pale, tinged with pink and they develop on branch tips May through June. They open at night and are mainly pollinated by Long-nosed bats but also by moths and other insects, and birds. Fruits called 'pitahaya' mature in July and are sweet, juicy and edible, about the size of a tennis ball. Tohono O'Odham indians for centuries have gathered the fruits for drying, eating fresh, or to be made into wine.
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 Current Photo: AZ016
Available Photos: AZ018 AZ016 AZ022 (click to change photo)
Photographer's Comments: Photo taken in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
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