Organ Pipe Cactus
ARIZONA, USA
This majestic and healthy Organ Pipe Cactus, (Stenocereus thurberi) was captured in the midday light, on a cloudless hot day. It is located in the Sonoran desert of the extreme southwestern US and Northwestern Mexico and Baja. The ancient range of this endemic cactus now centers in the Organ Pipe National Monument and UNESCO Biosphere site in Arizona and the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere reserve in Mexico. This species range strattles the US- Mexico border wall and extends throughout western Mexico and throughout Baja. It grows nowhere else in the world. It is protected in the United States and Mexico.
Blooming only at night, it is pollinated by bats and depends upon them for the continuation of the species.
Habitat destruction, poor building choices, competition for water, elimination of bat species and the Palo Verde trees they need for shade in their young stage are all reasons that this unique plant is found mostly in the remote areas of Mexico.
I have photographed several of these extraordinary cactus in the wild- this is my favorite. Organ Pipe ‘arms’ sprawl and fall down, due to their weight. This individual has kept the upward reach and density of arms …..and ‘spoke’ to me, the energy and resilience of nature.
