TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens.

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens. For the Tohono O'odham Nation, harvest time for the “bahidaj” ...

The kids carried long wooden poles made from saguaro cactus ribs with a small creosote stick tied perpendicular to one end. The little stick is used to knock the fruit off the top of the saguaro.

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens. For the Tohono O'odham Nation, harvest time for the “bahidaj” is a sacred start ...

Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, picks a ripe saguaro cactus fruit during a harvest day in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, June 23, 2025.

For members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, the centuries-old sacred harvest of saguaro fruit from the desert around Tucson is experiencing a revival.

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens. For the Tohono O'odham Nation, harvest time for the “bahidaj," or saguaro fruit ...

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens. For members of the Tohono O’odham ...

The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its fruit ripens.