The annual UBRP visit to the Saguaro National
Park West took place again this June. About 30 UBRPers rode
over Gates Pass to the Tohono O’Odham campsite
to harvest the saguaro cacti fruit. Upon arrival, we
were introduced to Stella Tucker, a Tohono
O’Odam
tribal member, who comes every year to harvest and
carry on the tradition. She began by showing us the
tools used for harvesting -- saguaro “ribs.” I
had never heard of these interesting parts of this
cactus’s anatomy.
We took these and the provided buckets out into the
desert to prod the tops of the cacti to release their
fruit
into the bucket. I’m not usually a big fan of the
desert, but this was actually a fun sort of game. After
walking through the desert forest for some time and munching
on the fruit in the bucket, my group came upon a dead
saguaro. This was actually very enthralling. It had one
of its arms hanging from its loose ribs and had many
of its other ribs falling out of its dried skin. Soon
after that, we decided that we would head back to the
camp. We arrived about an hour earlier than the remaining
groups, so we were able to husk the fruits we had collected.
Another “special” tool came in handy at this
point; it turns out that the blossom of the saguaro becomes
hard and sharp and can be used like a pizza cutter to
open the pod that contains the fruit and seeds!
After everyone returned, we feasted on a traditional
meal prepared by the Tohono O’Odham. This included
cholla buds, hand made tortillas, and tepary beans. During
our meal, Stella shared the history and traditions of
saguaro harvesting. I found it interesting that the saguaro
fruit could be a fine addition to a diabetic’s
diet; the sweet fruit has little sugar apparently. Also,
the wine fest and accompanying traditions sounded very
exciting. Near the end of the evening, Jesus
Garcia ‘98,
a UBRP alum (Dr. Dan Papaj’s and Dr. Robert Robichaux’s
lab, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)and
staff member at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, spoke about other
traditions and research. One of his topics included the
tastes of palo verde seeds. The whole Saguaro Harvest
experience exalted the desert in my mind. The field trip
was very enlightening. Who knew the desert was so edible!
Dominique Leitner, UBRPer in Dr. John Hildebrand’s
lab, Neurobiology
The annual UBRP visit to the Saguaro National
Park West took place again this June. About 30 UBRPers rode
over Gates Pass to the Tohono O’Odham campsite
to harvest the saguaro cacti fruit. Upon arrival, we
were introduced to Stella Tucker, a Tohono
O’Odam
tribal member, who comes every year to harvest and
carry on the tradition. She began by showing us the
tools used for harvesting -- saguaro “ribs.” I
had never heard of these interesting parts of this
cactus’s anatomy.
into the
desert to prod the tops of the cacti to release their
fruit
into the bucket. I’m not usually a big fan of the
desert, but this was actually a fun sort of game. After
walking through the desert forest for some time and munching
on the fruit in the bucket, my group came upon a dead
saguaro. This was actually very enthralling. It had one
of its arms hanging from its loose ribs and had many
of its other ribs falling out of its dried skin. Soon
after that, we decided that we would head back to the
camp. We arrived about an hour earlier than the remaining
groups, so we were able to husk the fruits we had collected.
Another “special” tool came in handy at this
point; it turns out that the blossom of the saguaro becomes
hard and sharp and can be used like a pizza cutter to
open the pod that contains the fruit and seeds!
After everyone returned, we feasted on a traditional
meal prepared by the Tohono O’Odham. This included
cholla buds, hand made tortillas, and tepary beans. During
our meal, Stella shared the history and traditions of
saguaro harvesting. I found it interesting that the
saguaro
fruit could be a fine addition to a diabetic’s
diet; the sweet fruit has little sugar apparently. Also,
the wine fest and accompanying traditions sounded very
exciting. Near the end of the evening, Jesus
Garcia ‘98,
a UBRP alum (Dr. Dan Papaj’s and Dr. Robert Robichaux’s
lab, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) and
staff member at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, spoke about other
traditions and research. One of his topics included the
tastes of palo verde seeds. The whole Saguaro Harvest
experience exalted the desert in my mind. The field trip
was very enlightening. Who knew the desert was so edible!
