You say saguaro, I say sahuaro…have you ever noticed the two spellings of this majestic cactus? Have you ever wondered which one is correct? Do you struggle with pronouncing the word?
Let help you with the pronunciation first. No matter how it’s spelled, the pronunciation is the same. It’s “suh-wah-roh.” NOT “sa-guar-o.” Ignore the “g.” When saguaro is spelled with a g, the g is pronounced as though it is an h.
So which spelling is correct? Actually, both spellings are correct. However, I believe sahuaro with an “h” is more accurate. My belief is based on a University of Arizona course, “The Ecology of the Southwest,” that was part of my curriculum, led by Dr. Charles Lowe, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.
According to Dr. Lowe, saguaro is an anglicized version of sahuaro. He explained that people often assume saguaro is of Spanish origin, which is why the g is pronounced like an h. But this is incorrect. The word is actually from a Native American language. True, the Saguaro National Monument uses the g spelling, but the town of Sahuarita, Arizona (which translates to “Little Sahuaro,”) and Sahuarita High School in Tucson, have used that spelling since their inception. Regardless, Dr. Lowe insisted that because the word origin is Native American and not Spanish, the spelling of sahuaro with an “h” is the proper spelling. I agree!
I’ll close with some important sahuaro facts:
· The sahuaro is only found in the Sonoran Desert.
· The tallest sahuaro on record is 78’.
· It is cold hardy to 18 degrees.
· It takes 50 years or more to grow an arm.
· It takes 30 years (from seed) for a sahuaro to reach 3’.
· They live up to 200 years.
· An 8’ tall sahuaro can weigh up to 1200 lbs.
· Plants over 6’ tall rarely survive transplanting. The tricky part is that it can take them 8 to 10 years to die—meaning if you buy a very tall specimen you will not know if it survived the transplanting process for a very long time.
· This plant is protected by Arizona’s Native Plant Law. It is illegal to move a sahuaro from one location to another without a permit. (You do not need a permit if the sahuaro is being moved to a new location on the same property.)
· Intentionally damaging or harming a sahuaro is a Class 4 Felony.
