A beloved crested saguaro named Gumby died at Tohono Chul in Tucson in July. The cactus was estimated to be well over 100 years old and was a favorite among visitors.
Crested saguaros get their name from the fan shaped growths that form at the top of them as the result of a mutation. Jack Dash, the gardens and facilities manager at Tohono Chul, described that abnormality.
“Cells that are normally dividing upward start dividing outward,” Dash said…