Arizona: Sky Island Specialties
common bracken
Pteridium aquilinum (bracken, brake or common bracken), also known as eagle fern, and Eastern brakenfern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. The extreme lightness of its spores has led to its global distribution.
alligator juniper
Juniperus deppeana (alligator juniper or checkerbark juniper; Native American names include táscate and tláscal) is a small to medium-sized tree reaching 10–15 m (rarely to 25 m) tall. It is native to central and northern Mexico (from Oaxaca northward) and the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas). It grows at moderate ...more ↓
southwestern white pine
Pinus strobiformis, commonly known as Southwestern white pine, Mexican white pine or Chihuahua white pine, is a medium-sized white pine tree whose native habitat is in southwestern United States and Mexico. It is typically a high-elevation pine growing mixed with other conifers (a Montane forest).
Apache pine
Pinus engelmannii, commonly known as the Apache pine, is a tree of Northern Mexico, in the Sierra Madre Occidental with its range extending a short distance into the United States in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. This pine is a medium-sized species with a height of 20–30 m (66–98 ft) and a trunk diameter of 35–80 cm (14–31 in).
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, or western yellow-pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to the western United States and Canada. It is the most widely distributed pine species in North America.:4
white fir
Abies concolor, commonly known as the white fir or Colorado white-fir, is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at elevations of 900–3,400 m (3,000–11,200 ft). It is a medium to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25–60 m (80–195 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m (6.6 ft). It is popular as an ornamental landscaping ...more ↓
Coues' senna
Senna covesii (desert senna, Coues' senna, rattleweed, rattlebox, dais, or cove senna) is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae, native to the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert in southeastern California, southern Nevada, and Arizona in the United States, and northern Baja California in Mexico. It is found on desert plains and in sandy washes ...more ↓
velvet mesquite
Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium-sized perennial tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran Desert.
pink fairy-duster
Calliandra eriophylla, commonly known as fairy duster, is a low spreading shrub which is native to deserts and arid grasslands in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and Mexico.
Western coral bean
Erythrina flabelliformis, common name chilicote or western coral bean, is a plant species native to central and northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is known from Baja California as far south as Morelos and as far east as San Luis Potosí, as well as from Arizona and New Mexico.
Lambert's Locoweed
Oxytropis lambertii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by several common names, including purple locoweed, woolly locoweed, and Lambert crazyweed.
New Mexico locust
Robinia neomexicana, the New Mexican locust, New Mexico, Southwest, Desert, Pink, or rose locust), is a shrub or small tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae.
red raspberry
Rubus idaeus (raspberry, also called red raspberry or occasionally as European raspberry to distinguish it from other raspberries) is a red-fruited species of Rubus native to Europe and northern Asia and commonly cultivated in other temperate regions.
thimbleberry
Rubus parviflorus, commonly called thimbleberry, is a species of Rubus native to North America.
birchleaf buckthorn
Frangula betulifolia, the birchleaf buckthorn, is a shrub or small tree in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. It is native in northern Mexico in the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera, and mountainous, desert regions of the Southwestern United States of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and far west Texas; besides being found in Sonora, Chihuahua and Durango of the Occidental ...more ↓
Fendler's ceanothus
Ceanothus fendleri (Fendler ceanothus, Fendler buckbrush, deer brier) is a species of flowering shrub native to northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas and the northeastern Texas panhandle, Utah, Colorado, eastern Wyoming, and western South Dakota. Its typical habitat is pine forests from 1,500 to 3,000 meters (4,900 to 9,800 ft) in altitude.
white mulberry
Morus alba, known as white mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to 10–20 m tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to humans, although there are some specimens known to be over 250 years old. The species is native to northern China, and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere (United States, ...more ↓
netleaf hackberry
Celtis reticulata, with common names including netleaf hackberry, western hackberry, Douglas hackberry, netleaf sugar hackberry, palo blanco, and acibuche, is a small- to medium-sized deciduous tree native to western North America.
pointleaf manzanita
Arctostaphylos pungens, with the common name pointleaf manzanita, is a species of manzanita. It is native to the Southwestern United States and to northern and central Mexico, where it grows in chaparral and woodland habitats, and on desert ridges. Arctostaphylos pungens can be seen growing at Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico at an elevation of about 6000 ...more ↓
Arizona madrone
Arbutus arizonica, commonly known as Arizona madrone, is a tree species in the heath family that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its range extends along the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera from the Madrean Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico south as far as Jalisco. It has been found in Sonora, Chihuahua, ...more ↓
ocotillo
Fouquieria splendens (commonly known as ocotillo American Spanish: , but also referred to as coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the Southwestern United States (southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, ...more ↓
firecrackerbush
Bouvardia ternifolia, the firecracker bush, is a shrub widespread across much of Mexico, the range extending south into Honduras and north into the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico and Texas).
fishhook barrel cactus
Ferocactus wislizeni, the fishhook barrel cactus, also called Arizona barrel cactus, candy barrel cactus, and Southwestern barrel cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to northern Mexico and the southern United States. It is a ball-shaped cactus eventually growing to a cylindrical shape, with spiny ribs and red ...more ↓
Brown-spined Pricklypear
Opuntia phaeacantha is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common names tulip prickly pear and desert prickly pear found across the southwestern United States, lower Great Plains, and northern Mexico. The plant forms dense but localized thickets. Several varieties of this particular species occur, and it also hybridizes easily with other prickly pears, ...more ↓
Santa Rita Pricklypear
Opuntia gosseliniana, commonly known as the violet pricklypear, is a species of cactus that is native to Pima County, Arizona in the United States and Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora in Mexico.
big saltbush
Atriplex lentiformis (quail bush, big saltbrush, big saltbush, quailbrush, lenscale, len-scale saltbush and white thistle) is a species of saltbush.
rough cocklebur
Xanthium strumarium (rough cocklebur, clotbur, common cocklebur, large cocklebur, woolgarie bur) is a species of annual plants belonging to the Asteraceae family. It probably originates in North America and has been extensively naturalized elsewhere.
Mountain Oxeye
Heliopsis parvifolia is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common name mountain oxeye. It is native to northern Mexico from Baja California east to Tamaulipas and south as far as Aguascalientes, as well as the southwestern United States (southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, western Texas).
woolly paperflower
Psilostrophe tagetina is a flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name woolly paperflower . It is native to Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and northwestern Mexico.
pinewoods geranium
Geranium caespitosum, the purple cluster geranium or pineywoods geranium, is a perennial herb native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Its US distribution includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
poison ivy
Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is a poisonous Asian and Eastern North American flowering plant that is well-known for causing Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash in most people who touch it. It is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The species ...more ↓
western poison ivy
Toxicodendron rydbergii the western poison ivy, is a species of Toxicodendron in the cashew family. It is native to most of Canada from the Maritimes to British Columbia, and most of the contiguous United States except the southeastern states, New Jersey, Delaware, and California. It can be found growing in forests, and other wooded areas, usually near streams and ...more ↓
fragrant sumac
Rhus aromatica, the fragrant sumac, is a deciduous shrub in the family Anacardiaceae native to Canada and the United States from southeast Ontario to Vermont down into central Florida to west Texas up through Nebraska over to southern Wisconsin back to Ontario. It grows in upland open woods, fields, barrens, and rocky cliffs.
smooth sumac
Rhus glabra, the smooth sumac, (also known as white sumac, upland sumac, or scarlet sumac) is a species of sumac in the family Anacardiaceae, native to North America, from southern Quebec west to southern British Columbia in Canada, and south to northern Florida and Arizona in the United States and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico.
common hoptree
Ptelea trifoliata, commonly called the common hoptree or wafer ash, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family (Rutaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a deciduous shrub or tree, with alternate, trifoliolate leaves.
bigtooth maple
Acer grandidentatum (bigtooth maple) is a species of maple native to interior western North America, occurring in scattered populations from western Montana in the United States south to Coahuila in northern Mexico. It is closely related to Acer saccharum (sugar maple), and is treated as a subspecies of it by some botanists, as Acer saccharum subsp. ...more ↓
box elder
Acer negundo is a species of maple native to North America. In Canada it is commonly known as Manitoba maple and occasionally as elf maple. Box elder, boxelder maple, ash-leaved maple, and maple ash are its most common names in the United States; in the United Kingdom and Ireland it is also known as ashleaf maple.
Arizona white oak
Quercus arizonica, the Arizona white oak, is a North American tree species in the beech family. It is found in Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, and Durango.
Gambel Oak
Quercus gambelii, with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountain elevations of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak.
netleaf oak
Quercus rugosa, commonly known as the netleaf oak, is a broad-leaved tree in the beech and oak family Fagaceae. It is native to southern North America.
Sonoran scrub oak
Quercus turbinella is a North American species of oak known by the common names Turbinella oak, Arizona shrub live oak, and Gray shrub oak. It is native to northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States
silverleaf oak
Quercus hypoleucoides, the silverleaf oak or the whiteleaf oak is a North American species of trees or shrubs in the beech family. It grows in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Arizona black walnut
Juglans major (literally, the larger walnut), also known as Arizona walnut, is a walnut tree which grows to 50 ft tall (15 m) with a DBH of up to 0.61 metres (2 ft) at elevations of 300–2,130 m (1,000–7,000 ft) in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. It also occurs in Mexico as far south as Guerrero. Common names include Arizona black walnut (as it ...more ↓
velvet ash
Fraxinus velutina, the velvet ash or Arizona ash or Modesto ash, is a species of Fraxinus native to southwestern North America, in the United States from southern California east to Texas, and in Mexico from northern Baja California east to Coahuila and Nuevo León.
scarlet hedgenettle
Stachys coccinea, the scarlet hedgenettle or Texas betony, is an ornamental plant of the family Lamiaceae, which is native from Arizona to Texas and from Baja California Sur, Mexico to Nicaragua.
Beardlip Penstemon
Penstemon barbatus, known by the common names golden-beard penstemon, and beardlip penstemon, is a flowering plant native to the western United States. In Spanish-speaking New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called varita de San Jose – "St. Joseph's staff."
golden columbine
Aquilegia chrysantha, the golden columbine, is a perennial herbaceous plant native to the southwestern United States from extreme southern Utah to Texas and northwestern Mexico.
silverleaf nightshade
Solanum elaeagnifolium, the silverleaf nightshade or silver-leaved nightshade, is a common weed of western North America and also found in South America. Other common names include prairie berry, silverleaf nettle, white horsenettle or silver nightshade. In South Africa it is known as silver-leaf bitter-apple or ...more ↓
Roundleaf Snowberry
Symphoricarpos rotundifolius is a North American subshrub in the honeysuckle family, also known by the common name round-leaved snowberry.
desert cotton
Gossypium thurberi, also known as Arizona wild cotton, Thurber's cotton, or desert cotton, is a wild species of cotton.
Goodding's willow
Salix gooddingii is a species of willow known by the common name Goodding's willow, or Goodding's black willow. It was named for its collector, Leslie Newton Goodding (es).
Arizona sycamore
Platanus wrightii, the Arizona sycamore, also in Spanish Álamo, is a sycamore tree native to Arizona and New Mexico with its range extending south into the Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa.
Creosote Bush
Larrea tridentata is known as creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and as gobernadora in Mexico, Spanish for "governess", due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In Sonora, it is more commonly called hediondilla....
Arizona poppy
Kallstroemia grandiflora, the Arizona poppy, is a summer annual herb of the deserts of the Southwestern United States, California, and northern Mexico.
woodsorrels
Oxalis /ˈɒksəlɪs/ is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae comprising about 570 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species diversity is particularly rich in tropical Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.
Western Wallflower
Erysimum capitatum is a species of wallflower known commonly as the sanddune wallflower, western wallflower, or prairie rocket.
birdbill dayflower
Commelina dianthifolia, known as the birdbill dayflower, is a perennial herb native to Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico. Petals are blue while sepals are green. The inflorescence is a scorpioid cyme and it is subtended by a boat-like spathe.
canyon wild grape
Vitis arizonica is a North American species of wild grape. It is a deciduous vine.
century plants
Agave (US: /əˈɡɑːvi/, UK: /əˈɡeɪvi/, /əˈɡɑːvi/, Anglo-Hispanic: /əˈɡɑːveɪ/) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Some agave species are also native to tropical areas of South America. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies (see semelparity). Some species are known by the name ...more ↓
Palmer's agave
Agave palmeri (also known as Palmer's century plant) is an especially large member of the genus Agave, in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua. The plant is also frequently cultivated as an ornamental in other regions.
Wheeler sotol
Dasylirion wheeleri (desert spoon, spoon flower, or common sotol) is a flowering plant native to arid environments of northern Mexico, in Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern United States, in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, and also in New Mexico and Texas.
Western Spiderwort
Tradescantia occidentalis, the prairie spiderwort or western spiderwort, is a plant in the dayflower family, Commelinaceae. It is common and widespread across the western Great Plains of the United States, as well as in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, and Sonora, but is listed as a threatened species in Canada.
birdbill dayflower
Commelina dianthifolia, known as the birdbill dayflower, is a perennial herb native to Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico. Petals are blue while sepals are green. The inflorescence is a scorpioid cyme and it is subtended by a boat-like spathe.
