How the saguaro's flower becomes fruit and seeds (for a 6-year-old)
The saguaro cactus makes a pretty white flower that only stays open for one day. Here is what happens, step by step:
- Flower opens: One morning the cactus flower opens and smells sweet. Bees, bats, and hummingbirds come to visit.
- Pollination: The visitors carry tiny yellow dust called pollen from one flower to another. Pollen helps make seeds.
- Flower closes and changes: After the flower finishes, it closes and slowly turns into a small green fruit.
- Fruit grows and ripens: The fruit gets bigger and becomes red or pink. Inside are many tiny seeds.
- Seeds spread: Birds and animals eat the fruit and drop the seeds, or the fruit falls to the ground. If a seed lands in a shady, wet spot, it can sprout and grow into a new saguaro.
Fun fact: Each saguaro flower only lasts one day, but the cactus can grow many flowers every year. You can draw a saguaro with its one-day flower, then draw the red fruit and little seeds inside!