SONORAN DESERT LIFE:
 UNDERSTANDING, INSIGHTS &  IDENTIFICATION

Gerald A. Rosenthal

AVAILABLE FOR SALE AND DISTRIBUTION: SPRING, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS
06      Setting The Stage: The Sonoran Desert
10      How To Use This Guide
13      The Botany That Is Helpful To Know
20      A Final Suggestion
21      Cacti
50      Yuccas & Others
61      White, White-Green & Green
116    Yellow
179    Red, Pink, Magenta & Purple
210    Orange & Apricot
218    Blue, Violet & Lavender
238    Large Trees & Shrubs
288    For the Advanced Reader
310    Glossary
314    References
315    Acknowledgments
315    Technical Aspects
316    About the Author
317    Index



ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTIONS PROVIDE ADDED INSIGHT
INTO THE LIFE OF MANY SONORAN DESERT DWELLERS


    One of the few birds that is capable fully of holding its own against a rattlesnake. One authority described it as: “Because of its lightening quickness,
the Roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon rattlesnakes. Using its wings like a matador's cape, it snaps up a coiled rattlesnake by the tail, cracks it like a whip and repeatedly slams its head against the ground till dead.” A little gruesome, but highly effective, especially when dealing with such
a formidable reptile.

       Another insect that utilizes this plant is the tarantula hawk wasp. This animal seeks out and disables, using her potent venom, the far more massive tarantula spider. She can emerge victorious because the spider has to bite the wasp to prevail, it lacks  venom. The stinger of this wasp can reach 1/3”.
The vanquished prey is dragged into a suitable burrow where it is infected with a single egg. The paralyzed arachnid provides food for the newly emerged wasp larva in a protracted feeding ritual that is quite grotesque. Interactions between insects and other organisms truly display the complexity and intricacy of evolution to its fullest.

   The desert tarantula is a long-lived arachnid, females can reach 20 years, the tarantula spider maintains the same burrow for years. While appearing formidable, it is generally a gentle and shy creature; however, it can be provoked to bite. The relative size of the two combatants has been reasonably approximated.


   The male phainopepla (left) and his female companion are avid consumers of the fleshy berries of the mistletoe (Phoradendron californica). This food source is of such importance that they will not produce off springs if mistletoe is not abundant. As a result, they favor sites such as arroyos that support mesquite bosques—a prImary source of mistletoe hosts. These birds carry the mistletoe fruit to the top of the tree where they feed.  Defecated  seeds,
which can survive the digestive system, often fall onto a tree limb. The seed sprouts and the parasite grows into the living host tissues. This phainopepla feeding behavior is believed to be a principle means by which mistle-toe is distributed throughout the community of desert legumes.
 


EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND DRAWINGS SIMPLIFIES LEARNING THE FUNDA-
MENTALS THAT ADDS REAL ENJOYMENT TO THE DESERT EXPERIENCE.


PLANT DESCRIPTIONS  AND IMPORTANT VISUAL DETAILS ENABLES THE
READER TO IDENTIFY PLANTS OF INTEREST WITH CONFIDENCE AND CERTAINTY.

CRUCIFIXON THORN (Canotia holocantha)
      CELESTRACEAE (bittersweet)

    Overview: forms a shrub-like tree with a small but stocky trunk with thin, spine-tipped branches.
   Flowers: white to greenish yellow; corolla: 5 petals. Inflorescence: small, axillary racemic clusters.
   Calyx: 5 triangular sepals.
   Leaves: almost scale-like, spartan foliage.
   Stem: bark: light green to light brown, deeply furrowed; highly resinous branches.
   Handlens: 5 stamens and a 5-celled ovary that is supported by accessory tissues.
   Fruit: much of the plant is covered with dark, dried, and persistent, 5-segmented capsules that house
      dark-brown, winged seeds.
   Notes:  black, cushion-like structure at the base of twigs and flowers. Food production (via photo-
      synthesis) essentially delegated to the twigs.

DEVIL'S CLAW (UNICORN PLANT) (Proboscidea altheaefolia)
         MARTYNIACEAE (unicorn plant)

    Overview: prostrate, viscid, and pubescent perennial with a strikingly beautiful flower.
   Flowers: golden yellow; corolla: five lobed, deep throat that bears splashes and streaks of red.
   Calyx: 5 sepals.
   Leaves: oval, scalloped lobes, entire, pronounced venation and petioled. Lower: primarily opposite.
   Fruit: a curved and elongated capsule. At maturity, part of the fruit wall splits to create two curved
pieces forming the "devil's claw"; once seen—never forgotten. When the claw splits open, dozens of black,
edible seeds are released.
   Handlens: 4 stamens as 2 pairs (didynamous).
   Notes: a prostrate creeping plant of the summer flora. Bumblebees and carpenter bees are active
pollinators of the flower. Fibers from this plant are sought after in basket weaving. P. parviflora, which has
pinkish-purple flowers, is an annual.
   Native people cultivated this plant for its fruit as a source of fibers for basket weaving. The cultivated
plants produce enlarged “claws”, the fiber source.

  YELLOW COLUMBINE (Aquilegia chrysantha)
     RANUNCULACEAE (buttercup)

    Overview: perennial herb; its stem  has a heavy, woody base and its flowers  support an impressive spur.
   Flowers: golden-yellow; corolla: 5 petals, dramatically long spur (to 3”) that projects backwards. Large
assemblage of stamens that are even longer than the corolla tube (to 4”).
   Calyx: 5 lanceolate sepals.
   Leaves: segmented into several lobes; elongated petiole (2-6”).
   Handlens: 5 independent pistils.
   Fruit: follicle.
   Notes: favors moist sites; truly an extraordinarily picturesque flower; not surprisingly, a popular plant
in desert gardens.