🌵☀️ The record-breaking Phoenix heat has even been too much for some cactuses. Cactuses carry out essential functions at night. That’s when they open their stomata, or pores, and carry out a gas exchange in which they take in the carbon dioxide they use to photosynthesize during the day. But because nights in Phoenix have experienced record-high heat, Desert Botanical Garden Chief Science Officer Kimberlie McCue said this suffocates and stresses out the saguaros, which dehydrates them and makes them more susceptible to infections and insects. Saguaros are “beautifully adapted to heat and aridity, but they have their limits,” McCue said. #phoenix #phoenixarizona #arizona #azwx #desert #desertlife #cactus #cacti #cactuses #nature #heatwave #summer #cactuslover