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Cactaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Carnegiea gigantea

Carnegiea gigantea

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Carnegiea gigantea is native to the semi-arid and arid regions of southwest N. America, where rainfall occurrs in winter and again in the summer. Amounts can vary widely from year to year but average annual amounts are around 150 - 400mm. The plant is not very cold tolerant but can survive short periods with temperatures falling as low as -5°c so long as the soil is free-draining and the weather is dry. Death will occur if the plant is exposed to below freezing temperatures for 29 or more consecutive hours[1]. The plant requires hot summers and mild winters if it is to thrve. Requires a sunny position. The plant is found in the wild on shallow soils that are light, coarse-textured, and rocky[1]. Carnegiea gigantea does not occur at sites where soils are saline or subjected to flooding or long periods of freezing[2]. An extremely slow-growing plant, reaching only 6mm tall after two years. It only starts flowering once it has reached about 30 - 35 years of age and a height of about 2 metres[1]. The first branches, which grow out from the sides of the stem, only appear after it has reached a height of 4 - 5 metres and an age of 50 - 70 years. The plant has a deep anchoring taproot up to 1 metre long and an extensive, shallow, lateral root system that allows it to take up water quickly after the infrequent rains typical of the Sonoran Desert. During this time the trunks swell considerably[10.50]. The plant is the state flower of Arizona[2].

Propagation

Seed - it has a short viability and is best sown as soon as ripe. Fresh seed germinates readily[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Carnegiea+gigantea>

Pollinators

Bats, Bees, Birds

References

  1. [1]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
  2. [2]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  3. [3]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
  4. [4]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  5. [5]The Cactus Family — Anderson E.F. · Timber Press; Portland, Oregon · 2001 · ISBN 0-88192-498-9 ↩︎An excellent work, giving botanical descriptions of virtually all the cacti, together with their range (but not their habitats) and sometimes also a photo. it also contains a long chapter detailing the many uses of cacti and another on cultivation..
  6. [6]Ajo Peak to Tinajas Altas: A flora in southwestern Arizona. Part 7. Eudicots: Cactaceae - Cactus Family — Felger R.S. et al · 2014 · ISBN 2153 733X ↩︎
  7. [7]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics