There is a cactus that grows only in southern Arizona and northern Mexico that has a skin around its trunk that permits it to blow up to twice its normal size.
It is the saguaro cactus, a giant desert plant. This cactus can soak up 200 gallons of water when it rains, enough to keep it from drying up during long periods without rain. But 200 gallons of water is a lot of water. How can it hold that much? Nature has constructed it so that as it absorbs water it swells, the way a balloon does when it is filling with air. After a long drink , a saguaro can double its width.
A saguaro produces 40 million seeds during its 200-year lifetime, yet not one of these may survive. Many of the seeds are eaten by animals. What’s more, these seeds cannot survive without the help of a paloverde bush or a mesquite tree.
The young seedlings need the heat of the desert to live but cannot stand the cold of the desert nights. They need the bright light of the desert but will die unless they have shade. They need summer rain but will rot if they get too much water.
The mesquite and the paloverde protect the saguaro seeds from too much water and the cold wind and provide the shade the young plants can’t live without.
Related Posts
-
What Is the Slowest Growing Plant In the World and Where Does the Saguaro Cactus Come From?
In general, cactus plants are the slowest growing plants on earth. One kind of cactus, the saguaro, grows just one inch in the first ten years of its life. The saguaro cactus doesn't…
-
How Much Water Do Clouds Hold and How Does the Size and Color of a Cloud Affect How Much Water It Can Hold?
The amount of water inside a cloud is not different from the amount of water in the clear air around it. However, while the clear air contains water vapor, inside the cloud the…
-
What is the Place of the Cactus and Where did the Cactus on the Mexican flag come from?
According to the Aztec legend, the god Huitzilopochtli led the Aztec to the place where Tenochtitlan would be built. At the site, they found an eagle seated on a cactus holding a serpent…
-
Where does the phrase “hold your horses” come from and What does “hold your horses” mean?
The phrase "hold your horses" means: Don't be in too great a hurry; take it easy; watch your step; keep your shirt on; be patient; control your temper. This homely admonition traces back…
-
Where does the phrase “to hold water” come from and What does it mean?
The literal sense of the expression "to hold water", such as applied to a sound pitcher or bowl, gradually acquired in the early seventeenth century a figurative meaning, as if testing a pitcher…
-
How Did the Saying “Won’t Hold Water” Originate and What Does the Phrase Mean?
The expression "won't hold water" comes from the legend of Tutia, a Roman Vestal Virgin who was accused of having lost her innocence. To prove herself not guilty she had to carry a…
