Tucson

Meetings of the Tucson Chapter

Location for Chapter Meetings

The Tucson chapter holds meetings between September and May each year, with a summer break.  We meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm.  We hold  “hybrid” meetings, where we meet both  in person and also on Zoom.  The live meetings will be in the ENR2 (Environment and Natural Resources 2) building at the University of Arizona, located on 6th street near Park.  We meet in Room S215.  Parking is available in the 6th St parking garage adjacent to ENR2.  A credit card is required to pay for garage parking.  If you are not on our mailing list and wish to attend one of our meetings on Zoom, email us at NativePlantsTucson@gmail.com to request the Zoom link.  Videos of past meetings can be found on our YouTube channel.

Chapter meeting for December, 2024

MEMBER’S SHOWCASE AND HOLIDAY GATHERING

 

December 12, 2024 meeting, presentation, 7pm

U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S255

1064 E. Lowell Street, U of A Campus, Tucson, AZ

MEMBER’S SHOWCASE AND HOLIDAY GATHERING

Jillian Cowles – Chasing Wildflowers

Logan Phillips – Tucson’s Birthplace Open Space Coalition

Our December meeting will feature the Member’s Showcase.  Two of our esteemed AZNPS members will regale us with presentations about topics in which they have a particular interest.  After the talks, we will have a social hour, with cider and goodies and the chance to chat with friends.  If you are able, please bring a holiday food treat to share. 

 

 

Jillian Cowles will share her amazing photographs of some Teague Embreyrare cactus and other plants that she has sought out over the past year.  Jillian is the author of “Amazing Arachnids,” an amazing book published by Princeton University Press about the arachnids (spiders, mites, and other cool stuff) of the Southwest.  Her photos are always a delight.

 

Logan Phillips is a Tucson poet, educator, and community activist who will tell us about the Tucson’s Birthplace Open Space Program (https://tucsonopenspace.org/).  This effort, in which he is deeply involved, is focused on restoring the area between A Mountain and the Santa Cruz River, in the area near Mission Garden, into an open space and urban wildlife refuge that will honor the history of the Santa Cruz basin.

 

Save the date:  January 9, 2025, at 7:00 pm.  Wendy Hodgson from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix will talk about “Yuccas and their Moths.”

 

JOIN OUR CHAPTER E-LIST

Join Our Chapter E-list:  If you would like to receive announcements about field trips and meetings via e-mail, send a note to the Tucson Chapter email to be added to the list. Stay informed by joining us on Facebook.

Usually the most up-to-date information about upcoming chapter events can be found on our Facebook page.

Sonoran Desert Plants: Seasonal Flowering Schedules – Based on 20 years of data from 1966-1985 by William G. McGinnies

 

Chapter Leadership

Name Role Contact
Jack Dash President nativeplantstucson@gmail.com
Vice President nativeplantstucson@gmail.com
Andrew Gourevitch Treasurer gourevitch@yahoo.com


Volunteering Opportunities

Want to get involved? We've got just the thing!

Cholla flower with visiting Diadasia

Do you like native plants?

Caring for agave and baby cacti? Consider volunteer opportunities at the Pima County Native Plant Nursery! Located at 5845 N. Camino de la Tierra, the Pima County Native Plant Nursery grows native plants for public projects and is looking for volunteers to help with weeding, watering and propagation. The nursery is open Monday to Friday 7:00am to 3:30 pm. Email Amy for available times/days and details. Plant salvage at Cortaro Farms from Camino Del Oeste to Thornydate prior to road improvement project.

 

Chapter News

Late SummerField Trips, Workshops and Mixers

Posted on Aug 14, 2023

We have a number of excellent field trip offerings at this time for AZNPS members. Contact emails are not the same for all trips, so pay attention to the email address inserted in each trip announcement.

Don’t forget our Monsoon Mixer and Plant Swap on Friday, August 18th  at the MSA Annex on 267 South Avenida Del Convento

A Morning Stroll in a Happily Recovering Desert at the Waterman Restoration Site

 Saturday-Sunday September 2 and 3,

8:00 – 10:00 AM

Bring water, camelback recommended

Wear sturdy boots and long pants

Open to the Public

Please rsvp to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com

Directions : Turn west at I-10 Avra Valley Road exit 242

Drive west exactly 19.5 miles

Turn left immediately after the HOLCIM sign

Drive straight ahead 1 mile, bearing left all the way

Meet at the first turn-out

The Waterman Restoration site on Ironwood Forest National monument is now in full desert recovery with over 110 native plant species and a gradually increasing number of insects, birds, small mammals, reptiles and even visits of desert sheep. In the mid-2000s this same site was known as the “Mother of all Buffelgrass Patches.” After generous recent rains, the desert is now coming alive. Perennial plants are leafing out and new plants are emerging underfoot. We will stroll through a desert in various stages of restoration, walking among mid-size and newly emerging desert trees, ocotillos, and bushes; learning how to identify them in different phases. We will learn about many overlooked plants that are powerful restoration agents and soil builders. We will see plant succession in action among trees and shrubs. We will also see how simple water harvesting techniques have brought life-giving moisture to the landscape and healed areas that had been bare and apparently “sterile.” Best of all, we will discover new things from participants who happen to see something unexpected or who have knowledge or observations to share with the group. This will be an opportunity to enjoy the desert together and learn from one another!

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Roadside Grasses, including the newly discovered roadside Trailing Grama

Sunday 20 August

8am to 10am

Meet on the north side of the Trader Joe’s Parking area on the SE corner of Magee/Oracle

Limit: 12 participants

RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com

Roadsides are unlikely but surprising places to find dozens of native (and non-native) grasses. Join John Scheuring on a driving grass tour of roadside basins briming with various grass species. This will be a great way to learn our common grasses by seeing them side-by-side in bloom.  We will also see Trailing Grama Grass (Bouteloua diversispicula), the newly discovered roadside species common in Sonora that had only been previously found in Arizona in one remote area of Ironwood Forest. We will not park or walk on busy roadways but bring a reflective vest if you have one.

TG along Oracle Rd.jpg

Lower Carrie Nation Trail Plant & Nature Walk

Madera Canyon

Saturday, August 26 8:00 am- 1:00 pm                                           

Leader: Doug Moore. Friends of Madera Canyon Naturalist

Limit: 10 participants;  AZNPS members only

on the Wrightson loop drive)RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com Meet at Mt. Wrightson Picnic Area: 3rd upper right-side parking lot (with 1st restroomon the Wrightson loop drive) 

Morning plant/nature walk on the beautiful lower Carrie Nation Trail, hiking up to & just above the “big rock” at the 2nd stream crossing seeking wildflowers, plants, birds, butterflies, & more We will watch for Elegant Trogon, Chiricahua Mountain Larkspur, Charles Mason’s Ragwort, Huachuca Mountain Addersmouth, Orchids, & other monsoon specialties along the trail.

Description: Approx. 1.75 miles roundtrip; moderate to difficult hiking on uneven, rocky ground w/ steady elevation gain & a stream crossing. The trail is mostly shaded, but the weather may be warm. Must be able to hike/stand for several hours & negotiate long downhill returning to parking area. Participants need to be in good physical shape & health for this activity!

Bring: water, good hiking shoes or boots, walking stick/poles, binoculars, sunscreen, sun hat & trail snacks for stop at the top. Optional: hand-held camera. Note: May need to return to parking lot immediately in the event of thunderstorm & lightening.

2020 Madera.jpg

Sabino Canyon Herp and Plant Trip

Sunday, August 20th, 6pm-8pm

Meet at the Sabino Canyon Visitors Center

RSVP to nativeplantstucson@gmail.comJoin Tucson Herpetological Society President Robert Villa and AZNPS Tucson Chapter President Jack Dash on a natural history walk in Sabino Canyon. We will be looking out for reptiles, amphibians, plants, and whatever else we happen across. This trip is open to members of THS and AZNPS and is free (however Sabino Canyon does charge an $8 parking fee). 
Despite our lack of reliable rainfall this summer Sabino Canyon should hold some interesting species for us to discuss. We will be hiking in the evening so flashlights/blacklights are encouraged for the walk back to the parking lot. Remember to bring plenty of water. 

Late Summer in the Chiricahua Mountains

September 16, 17, and 18, 2023

Southwestern Research Station, Portal, Cochise CountyQuestions or More Information: Please contact Doug Ripley at jdougripley@gmail.com

The Cochise and Tucson Chapters of the Arizona Native Plant Society are again sponsoring a long weekend in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Cochise County. 

These richly diverse mountains are one the northern-most islands in the Madrean Archipelago that encompasses parts of Arizona, New Mexico , Sonora, and Chihuahua. Come enjoy this weekend with us. Whatever the weather, there will be botanical treats and great company. 

Accommodations, including meals, will be provided by the Southwestern Research Station. 

Late Summer in the Chiricahua Mountains, September 16, 17, and 18, 2023

Posted on Aug 07, 2023

Southwestern Research Station, Portal, Cochise County.

The Cochise and Tucson Chapters of the Arizona Native Plant Society are again sponsoring a long weekend in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Cochise County.
These richly diverse mountains are one the northern-most islands in the Madrean Archipelago that encompasses parts of Arizona, New Mexico , Sonora, and Chihuahua. Come enjoy this weekend with us.
Whatever the weather, there will be botanical treats and great company.

Tentative Schedule:
Day 1: Arrive mid to late afternoon, check in, eat supper and head for the education center for some plant talks and discussion.

Day 2: An all-day field trip to a location to be determined. Or alternatively, stay nearer SWRS and attend one or both of two shorter field trips. Happy Hour at the pool before dinner. Evening program in the station’s education center consisting of a plant ID workshop for plants encountered during the field trips.

Day 3: A morning field trip, lunch, and then depart.

Registration:
Accommodations, including meals, will be provided by the Southwestern Research Station.

PLEASE CONTACT DOUG RIPLEY (jdougripley@gmail.com) FOR THE REGISTRATION FORM.

Mark Your Calendar for the Monsoon Mixer

Posted on Jul 02, 2023

Annual Monsoon Mixer:

This year’s AZNPS Tucson chapter Monsoon Mixer is scheduled for August 18th at 6:30pm at the MSA Annex at 267 South Avenida del Convento, Tucson, AZ 85745. Put the date on your calendars, and keep an eye out for further updates. This will be a plant like last year, so set aside native plants, native plant literature, and seed to exchange. Membership is not required to attend this event.


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