I recently had the privilege of enjoying a hike starting from the Granite Mountain Trailhead in Scottsdale, AZ. I was there with a group of native plant experts for a casual exchange of information on the plants growing in the area. Below, is some information on what we found that day, but this is only a sample of the biodiversity that exists here.
The Granite Mountain Trailhead is located in the McDowell Sonoran
Preserve Northern Region at about 2600′ elevation. It is an access point to many beautiful nature trails in the desert. The city of Scottsdale has done a superb job of preserving 30,500 acres of natural desert for hiking, biking, and horeseback riding. It is the largest urban nature preserve in the United States.
Plant List
Here is a list of the plants we identified on the hike. I have sorted them into categories (bush, tree, cactus, yucca). Since it was Autumn after a dry summer, there were no desert annuals growing, so I will exclude those. However, we did see the dried up husks of some New Mexico Thistles (Cirsium neomexicanum). I have more information on these plants here.
Bushes
- Turpentine Bush (Ericameria laricifolia)
- Sweet Bush (Bebbia juncea)
- Brittle Bush (Encelia farinosa)
- Flattop Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
- Superstition Mallow (Abutilon palmeri)
- Desert Lavender (Condea emoryi)
- Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla)
- Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)
- Desert Senna (Senna covesii)
- Parish’s Goldeneye (Bahiopsis parishii)
- Trixis (Trixis californica)
- Triangle-Leaf Bursage (Ambrosia deltoidea)
- Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata)
- Slimleaf Bursage (Ambrosia confertiflora)
- Canyon Ragweed (Ambrosia ambrosioides)
- Chuparosa (Justicia californica)
Trees
- Little-Leaf Palo Verde (Parkinsonia microphylla)
- Crucifixion Thorn (Canotia holocantha)
- Greythorn (Ziziphus obtusifolia)
- Ironwood (Olneya tesota)
- Desert Hackberry (Celtis pallida)
- Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina)
- Catclaw Acacia (Senegalia greggii)
- Whitethorn Acacia (Vachellia constricta)
Cacti
- Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
- Christmas Cholla (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis)
- Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa)
- Teddy Bear Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii)
- Compass Barrel (Ferocactus cylindraceus)
- Arizona Queen of the Night (Peniocereus greggii)
- Englemann’s Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii)
- Elglemann’s Hedgehog (Echinocereus engelmannii)
Yuccas
- Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata)
- Soap Tree Yucca (Yucca elata)
Interesting Finds
The Autumn is the blooming season for Turpentine Bush, Sweet Bush, Flattop Buckwheat, Chuparosa, Desert Lavender, and Parish’s Goldeneye. There were plenty of bees and butterflies visiting. It rained about 0.5″ here a week ago, which has helped some of the plants to recover from the extreme summer. However, many plants were still in a dormant state, including Brittle Bush, Triangle-Leaf Bursage, and Chuparosa.
Maybe our most unexpected find was the Arizona Queen of the Night Cactus we found growing under this Desert Hackberry. They are usually difficult to spot because they are inconspicuous and tend to hide under trees. This was a fairly large specimen, reaching over 6′ tall. It was probably an old cactus, as there were dead skeleton pieces as well as living pieces.
The McDowell Sonoran Preserve Northern Region is a great place to find Yuccas. The slightly higher elevation (2600′) and increased rainfall allows for many beautiful stands of banana yuccas and soap tree yuccas. The banana yuccas tend to branch close to the ground and create large clusters. I have tried to grow banana yuccas in the low desert (Tempe) but I have had mixed results. I find the varieties with a more grey/blue tinge tend to survive better in the extreme heat/sun of the low valley.
Finally, I couldn’t end without mentioning one of my favorite plants that grows here! The crucifixion thorn (Canotia holocantha) is endemic to Arizona. It is a very cool tree that grows tons of green spiky branches and has almost no leaves. I don’t know why we don’t cultivate any of these trees in the lower valley. There are many of these trees in the preserve, you just need to differentiate them from the Palo Verdes. One indication is the fruit/seeds that form a a dried ring of slices and remain on the tree for a long time.