12 THE FANTASTIC CLAN 



state flower of Arizona. A hundred miles west of Tucson, 

 Arizona, Is a great forest of these noble cacti, the Papago 

 Sahuaro Forest of Arizona, while another forest of the great 

 trees Is a little to the east of the state capital, Phoenix. The 

 Giant cactus thrives best In the rocky valleys and foothills 

 along the low mountain slopes and canons, and prefers a 

 southern exposure. He likes a sandy, rocky soil where the 

 roots can go down deep, or run long distances underground. 

 He begins his life under the protection of some other plant 

 or shrub, and In time crowds out even his protectors. Near 

 VIctorvIlle in Southern California, In northern Mexico, and 

 through all of southern Arizona, "constellations" of huge 

 massive Sahuaro, viewed by the traveler for the first time 

 In the ghostly light of the moon, are a sight never to be for- 

 gotten. Like apparitions they seem in the white rays, 

 strange and noble figures of another world appearing before 

 us In these fantastic desert plants; it Is as If a graveyard had 

 suddenly delivered its dead ! Silent and mute and still they 

 stand ; waiting and watching and never seeming to die. And 

 here we must leave these majestic plants to their heritage 

 of the desert, above whose blazing sands they tower serene 

 and untouched by the life struggle silently going on around 

 them. 



Night Blooming Cereus (Cereus Greggii) 



Southern California, Mexico, Southern Arizona, and Texas 



The fashion show of the desert Is about to close, for we 

 see approaching us in southeastern California the Cereus 

 Greggii, the typical night blooming cereus. Have you been 

 in the Hawaiian Islands? Have you attended any of the 

 early Spanish fiestas? Have you heard the stories of the 

 Night Blooming Cereus? If so, you have heard about the 

 most beautiful, the most fragrant of flowers I No flower gar- 



