Northern AZ • Central AZ • Southern AZ • Southeastern AZ
Arizona has an extremely rich flora due to its diversity of altitudes and climate. It contains floristic associations ranging from sub-tropical to alpine with transitions zones between the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mohave and Great Basin deserts. This rich flora, almost 4000 species of native plants, is unequalled by few other regions of the United States. For a complete discussion, read the Natural Vegetation of Arizona (10 pgs) in Arizona Soils by David M. Hendricks. Tucson, Ariz.: College of Agriculture, University of Arizona, 1985. This electronic copy was produced in February 2002 in part with grant funds provided by the Library Services and Technology Act.
The Arizona Flora, written by Kearney and Peebles, will soon be 50 years old and is taxonomically out of date. In 1987, a joint effort between the herbaria at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University organized experts to produce an updated “Vascular Plants of Arizona”. The group decided to publish each paper as it was completed so that botanists could have access to the new treatments. The treatments were first published in the Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science starting with Volume 26 (1) in 1992. Then in 2005, a new journal Canotia was initiated. Here floral treatments are now published online where they can be read or downloaded at the following link to the ASU Herbarium.
http://collections.asu.edu/herbarium/canotia.html
Flora of the Sonoran Desert Region
If you want to look up the flora of the Sonoran Desert Region or a number of subunits (including the Tucson Mountains), you can now access the lists at the ASDM website at http://www.desertmuseum.org/center/swbiodiversity.php.
While there, you can connect to the gigantic SEINet/Symbiota Project (http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/index.php), managed by a consortium of universities and nonprofits including ASDM. It compiles the data from an ever-growing number of Southwestern herbaria, and integrates it with other useful modules such as plant identification keys and educational programs. The Desert Museum has contributed two major components to the project: images of live plants from its digital library and the thesaurus of common names. (No other herbarium-based database that we know of includes common names. Nonbotanists can use Symbiota without learning Latin.)
Check out the very cool online tutorials to learn about the features found within the Symbiota network. Search for an unknown plant or make your own species list. Or just try them out because the animated tutorials are cool!!
More floras are available for purchase from the journal Desert Plants published by The University of Arizona for Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum. Special issues devoted to the flora of an area are routinely printed.
Arizona Xerophytic Ferns contains a web-based identification guide of desert fern species. It contains an introduction, a discussion of adaptations and then photos of ferns found in Arizona.
An Illustrated Guide to ARIZONA WEEDS by Kittie F. Parker with drawings by Lucretia Breazeale Hamilton is now on the web. This classic resource, originally assembled from 1958 Agriculture Extension bulletins, is now in its 5th printing.
The Grasses of Las Cienega National Conservation Area has been assembled by The Nature Conservancy. Herbarium specimens of over 50 grasses were scanned to create images that can be copied or can be examined in detail by using the zoom feature of your computer.
The Sonoran Desert Florilegium Program was established to promote and preserve botanical illlustrations of the Sonoran Desert Region. The goal is to collect, exhibit and archive the historical, contemporary and future botanical art of this region and eventually establish a collection of botanical art of the Sonoran Desert Region. The project is sponsored by the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society and contributions are tax deductable. For more details, click here for the Florilegium Program brochure. For a contribution form, click here.
Why do those plant names keep changing? For a discussion of that topic from the California Native Plant Society, click here. For taxonomic changes following the most recent classification of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III (APG III) for Arizona flora, see the list (2011.3) created by Joan Tedford. Although there is no one authority over plant taxonomy, these changes are widely accepted and the UA Herbarium has rearranged its collection of over 400,000 specimens to reflect this change.
Northern Arizona
Grand Canyon National Park
In this web list, plant families are listed alphabetically with hyperlinks to many individual plants. The Grand Canyon National Park is in the northwest corner of Arizona, close to the borders of Utah and Nevada. The Colorado River, which flows through the canyon, drains water from seven states, but the feature we know as Grand Canyon is entirely in Arizona. It is located 85 miles NW of Flagstaff.
Vegetation of Grand Canyon National Park
This report of the Grand Canyon National Park vegetation was produced by the USGS in August 1982. It contains a description of the geology and 63 vegetative associations. The Appendix contains a list of spcies by Latin and common names (p 140-149).(149 pgs).
Montezuma Castle National Monument
The Montezuma Castle National Monument is located about 50 miles south of Flagstaff. This list includes plant families and names of plants in Latin, providing common names when available and was published in the Autumn 1998 Plant Press (3 pgs).
Northern Arizona Flora
This site, maintained by Lee Dittman, contains a listing of species of Northern Arizona wild plants (both native and non-native). So far, 271 of the approximately 2500 species, subspecies, and varieties are represented by images.
Yavapai County Native Plant Database
This database was created by Master Gardener volunteers and contains photos and descriptions of over 150 native plants found in Yavapai County
Common Plants of the Verde Valley & Sedona
Doug Von Gausig maintains this website. Verde Valley is defined as the area along the Verde River from its confluence with Sycamore Creek in the north, west to Mingus and Woodchute Mountains, south to Camp Verde and east to Sedona. The towns included in this area are Jerome, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Cornville, Camp Verde, Lake Montezuma/Beaver Creek and Sedona.
Wupatki National Monument Plant List
Wupatki National Monument is 12 miles north of Flagstaff. This list, assembled by Steve McLaughlin, includes plant families and names of plants in Latin, providing common names when available (4 pgs).
Central Arizona
Natural Vegetation of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
This report of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument vegetation was produced by the USGS in June 1992. This National Monument is located in Pinal County, 9 miles west of Florence. The list of native flora is contained on pages 14-20. Interesting comparisons of historic photos shows evidence of vegetative change from 1928-1941 to 1987 (46 pgs).
The Vascular Flora of San Tan Mountains Regional Park
This inventory of the San Tan Mountains Regional Park was published in October 2007. It was produced by the Arizona State University as part of the Canotia series (Vol 3, Issue3) which is included in the Vascular Plants of Arizona project. This park, part of the Maricopa County Park System, is located southeast of Phoenix (28 pg).
Seven Springs Region, Tonto National Forest
In this web list, plant families are listed alphabetically with hyperlinks to many individual plants. The Seven Springs Region lies in the northwestern region of Tonto National Forest in Maricopa County just north of Cave Creek.
Vegetative Inventory for Tonto National Monument
This report of Tonto National Monument flora was produced by the USGS in August 1995. The list of native flora is contained in Appendix 3 (pages 72-104). Interesting comparisons of historic photos shows evidence of change from 1929-1960s to the 1990's (132 pgs).
Southern Arizona
Wildflowers of Tucson, Arizona
This site, maintained by T. Beth Kinsey, features photographs and descriptions of the wildflowers of Tucson and Pima County. Currently, there are 355 different species of Tucson, Arizona wildflowers and other plants in this collection. Tucson has a wide variety of flowering plants due to its climate, topography, varied habitats and its location in the biologically diverse Sonoran Desert.
Flora of the Baboquivari Mountain Chain
The Baboquivari Mountains are located southwest of Tucson on the eastern border of the Tohono O'odham Reservation south of Ajo Highway (Hwy 86). This plant list is an appendix from Baboquivari Mountain Plants: Identification, Ecology and Ethnobotany by Dr. Daniel F. Austin (2010) Reprinted by permission of the University of Arizona Press. This is a preliminary list because there are added species being found regularly within the mountain ranges.(30 pgs.)
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge
The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is located west and adjacent to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The Cabeza Prieta Natural History Association maintains an educational website with detailed information about native plants (473 species), animals and geology. There are simple search pages to assist in identification of unknown desert plants.
Catalina State Park
Catalina State Park offers the visitors the opportunity to see typical desert plants species in addition to many that are associated with higher elevations. This list updated in 2011.10 by Joan Tedford includes plants unique the region. (14 pgs).
Empire Mountains are located between the Santa Rita and Rincon mountain ranges, and are bordered on the west by the upper reaches of Davidson Canyon, which holds a major seasonally-dry stream. They are a botanical crossroads located in the transition between Sonoran desert upland and desert grassland, Chihuahuan desert scrub, and Madrean evergreen woodland.
Vegetation and Flora of Fort Bowie National Historic Site
This report of Fort Bowie National Historic Site flora was produced by the USGS in March 1992. Eleven vegetative associations found in the area are described. A total of 470 species are identified (pgs 41-76). The report included an index of species by common names (p 80-83). (85 pgs).
The Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Fort Bowie National Historical Site A second report was published by the USGS in December 2006. The plant inventory is in Appendix A. (80 pgs)
Ironwood Forest National Monument
Flora of Pan Quemado in Ironwood Forest National Monument
This list first published in 1996 and updated in 2009 includes more than 20 years of fieldwork with contributions from M. Dimmitt, T.Van Devender, and A.L. Reina G
(9 pgs.)
Flora of the Ragged Top Mountains in Ironwood Forest National Monument
This list first published in 2001 and updated in 2009 includes more than 20 years of fieldwork with contributions from M. Dimmitt, T.Van Devender, and A.L. Reina G
(13 pgs.) For much more about the biological survey of the Monument, visit this site at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.
Flora of the Silverbell Mountains in Ironwood Forest National Monument
This study, updated by John Wiens in 2009, includes more than 20 years of fieldwork with contributions from M. Dimmitt, T.Van Devender, and A.L. Reina G. (11 pgs.)
King Canyon Flowering List
This list was prepared by the Botany Department of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum for King Canyon (4 pgs).
Las Cienega National Conservation Area Grass Guide (64 pgs, 8MB) has been assembled by The Nature Conservancy. Herbarium specimens of over 50 grasses were scanned to create images that can be copied or can be examined in detail by using the zoom feature of your computer. Watch for updated versions of this guide at The Nature Conservancy AZ Science website.
Flowering Plants of Madera Canyon: From Proctor to Josephine Saddle
An alphabetical list of common names indicating where and when seen (4 pgs).
Flowering Plants of Madera Canyon and the Santa Rita Mountains
Madera Canyon is in the Coronado National Forest 40 miles south of Tucson. This list of common names by plant type and the families includes Latin names (13 pgs).
Molina Basin to Mt Lemmon Plant List-Catalina Mountains
An updated (2011.10) plant list where plants are listed by family and Latin and common names, indicating where they are found (19 pgs).
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument allows the life of the Sonoran Desert to flourish under nearly ideal wilderness conditions. The plants in this list are sorted by family, by scientific and then common name. (17 pgs.)
The Pinaleno (or Graham) Mountains are a group of "Sky Islands" north of Willcox. Due to their location, they are a mix of Rocky Mountain and Madrean species. This website has detailed lists of vegetation, mammals. birds and herptiles. The Flora of the Pinaleno Mountains is 26 pages long.
Vascular Plants of Pima County
Pima County Species Listing by Township and Range
This tool lists native plants found during surveys in each Township and Range. The lists are not comprehensive, but are particularly useful for identifying what native plants grew in areas now developed. The lists are based on native plant clearance surveys conducted by Bill Kendall.
Pima County Listing of Native Plants by Family and Genus
This list has been developed as an aid to locating species in the township listings. In the Species Distribution Lists, the families, genera and species are organized in alphabetical order by scientific name. The following families and genera have been recorded as being native to Pima County. At this time this list does not include all of the native genera on record as occurring in Pima County.
Pima County Plant Listing
This is a list of all plants known to occur in the natural environment of Pima County. All are native unless marked "exotic" in the right-hand column.
Sabino Canyon Recreational Area
The Sabino Canyon Recreational Area of the Coronado National Forest is located in northeastern Tucson at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. This list, prepared by Joan Tedford for the Volunteer Naturalists, includes all of lower Sabino Canyon, the main roads and the Phone Line Trail (14 pgs-updated 2011.10).
Floristic Surveys of Saguaro National Park
This report of Saguaro National Park flora was produced by the USGS in October 2000. This publication brings together information from four different studies conducted from 1992-1996 into a single volume. (61 pgs)
This field guide (231 MB pdf, 108 pages) was created by Sue Carnahan. She photographed the flowers in Salero Ranch east of Tubac during the spring and summer of 2010. The plants are arranged by color, then family and then scientific name. An index is found on the last two pages. She hopes to improve the project on a regular basis. She welcomes corrections and suggestions.