Arizona’s high desert has a unique magic and mystique all its own and, when it comes to the Four Seasons Scottsdale, guests can also expect the unexpected—starting with its Sonoran Desert locale. For one, “lush” and “desert” aren’t normally two words one would associate, but in the high Sonoran Desert you’ll find iconic saguaro cacti […]
Cactus Thieves Prickle Conservationists
Posted to findingDulcinea by Shannon Firth Robbed of their cacti by collectors, souvenir hunters and “narco-tourists,” conservationists in the southwestern United States and Mexico are upset by the depletion. In Mexico, poor villagers often sell rare cacti to smugglers for a little money; smugglers then sell the treasures to collectors at a higher cost. In […]
New Weapon Will Prevent Cactus Rustling
The newest artillery in the arsenal of Saguaro National Park rangers is the size of a grain of rice and will be delivered, not with a rifle, but with a hypodermic needle. The weapon is being used in an effort to prevent cactus rustling. The mighty saguaro cactus has become a favorite target of thieves […]
Tepary Bean and High Deserts.
Are tepary beans a viable staple for other parts of the world? Indigenous peoples who lived in the Southwest learned what worked through centuries of trial and error. Most of us have lost, or never had, those skills. One of the proven staples of the Southwest was the tepary bean, Phaseolus acutifolius. The name possibly […]