Saguaro Cactus Flower; Arizona State Flower

Apart of Erica Catherine's US State Flower Collection, the Saguaro Cactus Flower represents the State of Arizona. The iconic desert Saguaro Cactus flower is shown on top of a pink color background.

The Saguaro Cactus Flower was adopted as the territorial flower in 1901 and later named the state flower in 1931. The flowers themselves have a very short bloom span and . Once they open at night, they will permanently close the next day. After the flowers are pollinated, later in the summer the flowers will turn into red fruit that help feed the local bird population. These cacti grow very slowly, on average only about an inch a year! They start their lives living in the shade of other shrubs or trees but they can reach up to 50 feet and live to be 200 years old. They grow so slowly that it can take up to 75 years for them to be able to produce side shoots. Because of the time that it takes for them to prorogate and grow they are a candidate for the endangered species list and make them illegal to harm in the state of Arizona.

Inspired by the natural and antique details that call to Erica's Old soul, she aims to bring that special spirit to all of her designs. Each drawing is created by hand using a mixture of graphite drawing with watercolor layering over the top to create the ethereal and vintage inspired work that harks back to turn of the century botanical illustration.