LOS GIGANTES [THE GIANTS]

From all the deserts plants species, the most impressive ones are undoubtedly the Cardones  (Carnegeia Gigantea) which attract attention not just by their height and corpulence, but by their peculiar shape and centenary life.

The cardones are native of the desert of Baja California and Sonora. Their roots spread to a wide area of approximately 30 meters in order to trap as much amount of water as possible. After a short rainy season, the cardón is capable of absorbing several tons of water that will allow it to survive for years. This species is also known as “Sahuaro Gigante”.

Growth

The cardon’s seed is no larger than 1 millimeter, however after the first year of development the plant will be six millimeters in height, and when it turns fifteen years old it will be 30 centimeters high, reaching two meters at the fiftieth year. However,  it will not have its first twig until being  seventy-five years old, which is the age when it will bloom and produce seeds for the first time. A grown (adult) cardón produces approximately 40 million seeds during its life, but it is possible that only one of them survives and reaches mature age.

Its trunk 

The middle of the cardón is a woody trunk that, along with its cylindrical stems (twelve or more) composed by woody elongated ridges. This gives it consistency and capability to contract and expand when storing great amounts of water through some corrugation folds. Likewise, its thick green skin performs the photosynthesis process and keeps humidity while the thorns discourage animals from stealing its water.

Its fruits

The cardon produces a huge amount of a juicy fruit similar to a fig. Native Indians make jelly, syrup and alcoholic drinks with this fruit. The fruit is mature during June and July, when coyotes, ants and a lot of birds enjoy its seeds and fruits.

A shelter within the Desert

Eagles, owls, birds of prey and several species of  wood peckers live on cardones. They make numberless holes on its trunks and twigs to nest or rest within them. This causes the cardones to heal its injuries with a healing tissue that stops the loss of water. In the past, native Indians used those squash–like cavities as water pots; the woody elongated ridges which supported the huge weight of water-filled cardones have been use to build shelters and  fences.

Significant Data

In 1992, the Mexican Government gave a Cardón specimen 17 meters in height, 10 tons of weight and an approximate age of more than 1500 years to the Spanish Government, with the purpose of being exhibited during the International Sevilla Expo  1992, carried out in the industrial, political, administrative, and service center in the region of Andalucía, due to the 500 years of the discovery of America. Currently, this specimen’s magnificence can still be admired, and it continues impressing all those persons who are lucky enough to watch it.