Wavy Scaly Cloakfern
March 15, 2022When I moved to Arizona and left the coast redwood forest behind, I sadly thought my love affair with ferns was over. I was proven wonderfully wrong almost immediately during…
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Friday Flora Feature: Arizona Fishhook Pincushion (Mammillaria grahamii)
October 14, 2021When hiking through southeastern Arizona in the desert or woodlands, it’s a real treat to see the Arizona Fishhook Pincushion cactus (Mammillaria grahamii) growing cryptically under palo verde trees, creosote shrubs, or even under other cacti. Over the course…
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Friday Flora Feature: Deer Grass
February 11, 2021One of the first plants we teach our volunteers to look for when out Spring Seeking is deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), a type of bunchgrass commonly found near water sources in the Sky Island region. This week, we’re here…
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Friday Flora Feature: Arizona Walnut
December 4, 2020When searching for water in the Sky Islands, finding a walnut tree can be a great indicator that you’re getting close to a spring, stream, or other water source! These…
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Friday Flora Feature: Canyon Grape
November 12, 2020For this week’s Friday Flora Feature, we’re spotlighting Vitis arizonica, a grape species we often see while seeking water resources in the Sky Island region. Keep reading to learn how to identify this species when you’re…
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Flora Feature: Patagonia Mountain Leatherpetal (Graptopetalum Bartramii)
July 3, 2020For this Friday Flora Feature, we’re exploring a rare herb-succulent found in the Arizona Sky Islands. Commonly called the Patagonia Mountain leatherpetal, Bartram’s stonecrop, or Graptopetalum bartramii Rose, G. bartramii belongs to the Crassulaceae (stonecrop) family. It is…
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Friday Flora Feature: Monkeyflowers
June 12, 2020Monkeyflowers are iconic desert plants found here in the Sky Island region and in much of the Western United States. Today’s Friday Flora Feature highlights the scarlet monkeyflower (Erythranthe cardinalis) and the seep monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata). It’s all in the name..or is it? Biologists and nature enthusiasts tend to use scientific…
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