To say that the iconic saguaro cactus is a slow grower is a colossal understatement. It takes ten years for a new saguaro to grow 1-2 inches and about 50 years to reach a height of 5-6 feet. In the wild, you will often find saguaro growing near a tree such as the palo verde (as seen here), mesquite or ironwood trees that are native to the Sonoran desert. These trees are known as "nurse trees" because they provide substantial benefits to the young saguaro such as shade, nutrients and water. Eventually the saguaro ages and grows (often to 20-30 feet) and because of its size, robs the nurse tree of those same nutrients and water, hastening the tree's demise.
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." --Marcel Proust ………
In school, I was a visual learner....
Love the way that you composed this, there is a wonderful sense of protection in your composition. I never knew that about the nurse tree and its parental sacrifice behavior. The Seguaro is one of most stoic creations in Nature.
Kinda sad. :(
Love the picture tho.