Baja California, MEXICO: The cardón cactus (Pachycereus pringlei)

Baja California, MEXICO: The cardón cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) is the world's largest cactus. American botanist, Cyrus Pringle, named the species in Latin: ''pachy'' which means thick and ''cereus'' meaning waxy. ''Cardo'' means ''thistle'' in Spanish. The cardón is nearly endemic to the deserts of the Baja California peninsula. Some of the largest cardones have been measured at nearly 21 meters (70 feet) high and weigh up to 25 tons. These very slow growing plants are also extremely long-lived, and many specimens live well over 300 years. Published in Americas Magazine, "Bizarre Blooms of Baja" article, April 2006 (official magazine of the Organization of American States, OAS)

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Baja California, MEXICO: The cardón cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) is the world's largest cactus. American botanist, Cyrus Pringle, named the species in Latin: ''pachy'' which means thick and ''cereus'' meaning waxy. ''Cardo'' means ''thistle'' in Spanish. The cardón is nearly endemic to the deserts of the Baja California peninsula. Some of the largest cardones have been measured at nearly 21 meters (70 feet) high and weigh up to 25 tons. These very slow growing plants are also extremely long-lived, and many specimens live well over 300 years. Published in Americas Magazine, "Bizarre Blooms of Baja" article, April 2006 (official magazine of the Organization of American States, OAS)