MONSTROSE GROWTH OF SAGUARO
Saguaros and other cacti can occasionally develop in a grossly distorted way, termed monstrose growth. This form of growth is familiar to many people who collect cacti, because commercial nurseries purposefully create this growth pattern for decorative effect, by damaging the apical mersitem of the plants. One spectacular natural example is shown in the image above. The damage might have been caused by frost but seems more likely to have been caused by an insect or other factor that disrupted the meristem, because the nearby plants of similar age were not damaged. Go to
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