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The Arizona Flora, written by Kearney and Peebles, will soon be 50 years old and is taxonomically out of date.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 started. Here floral treatments are now published online where they can be read or downloaded at the following link to the ASU Herbarium.
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.)
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 envisions the creation of a collection of botanical art of the Sonoran Desert region. For more details, click here for the Florilegium Program brochure. For a contribution form, click here.
Northern Arizona
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.
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).
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).
This site, maintained by Lee Dittman, contains a comprehensive 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.
This database was created by Master Gardener volunteers and contains photos and descriptions of over 150 native plants found in Yavapai County
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 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
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).
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).
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.
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
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.
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) This is a preliminary list because there are added species being found regularly within the mountain ranges.(30 pgs.)
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 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 2010 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.
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).
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.)
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.
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.)
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.
An alphabetical list of common names indicating where and when seen (4 pgs).
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).
An updated (2009) plant list where plants are listed by family and Latin and common names, indicating where they are found (18 pgs).
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
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 comprehensive 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.
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 (11 pgs-updated 2009).
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 website contains 270 species, including 186 native species, listed by family, Latin names and growth form. The list was updated in May 2007. (7pgs)
This study, Biological Values of the West Branch of the Santa Cruz River, reported that this region is the least degraded containing the highest biodiversity of the SCR floodplain near Tucson. The survey published in October 2001 includes the Plant List with 152 species in 37 families in pages 46-64.(70pgs)
The Sonoran Desert National Monument was established in 2001 because of its rich diversity of plant and animal species. This report, Biological Resources of the Sonoran Desert National Monument, contains a flora with 402 species in 260 genera and 71 families(pp39-96). (124 pgs)
Southeastern Arizona
The Chiricahua National Monument is located about 120 miles southeast of Tucson. This document contains a checklist and description of the Trees and Shrubs and it is followed by two lists of Herbaceous Plants at the medium and high elevations (10 pgs).
This report was produced by the USGS in October 1996. A total of 1261 Chiricahua taxa are presented in the list, including lengthy discussions of geology, soils, climate and vegetative types. The vegetation contains floral elements of the Sonoran and Chiricahuan deserts. (234 pgs.)
In this web list, plant families are listed alphabetically with hyperlinks to many individual plants. The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) is located among the "sky islands"of southeastern Arizona, a region of considerable environmental heterogeneity and biological diversity.
This Flora, compiled by Nancy Stallcup, surveys Garden Canyon which is on the military reservation of Fort Huachuca in the Huachuca Mountain Range of Cochise County near Sierra Vista (9 pages).
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