Carnegeia gigantea (Saguaro)

It is arguably the most famous cactus in the world-as well as iconic image of the desert southwest- with its massive form and upraised branches that give it an almost human form. While it is common in the desert uplands of Arizona and adjacent parts of northern Mexico, it is rarely uncommon in California. It has a CNPS Rare Plant Rank: 2B, rare, threatened, or endangered in California; common elsewhere. Saguaros are found infrequently on gravelly slopes and flats of creosote bush scrub to about 1,500 feet near the Colorado River and in the Whipple Mountains of southeastern San Bernandino County. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Micahel E Kauffmann."