Conservation Resources

The following links to previous issues of Plant Press Arizona (previously The Plant Press) are full of conservation information that is still helpful today.

What You’ll SeeArticle Title with LinkBrief Description
Stinknet PosterSmall downloadable poster with information about Stinknet.
Weeds Invasives vs Noxious vs Weedy NativesThe 2020 Arizona Botany Symposium celebrated our amazing native plant life and the precious habitats that plants provide for the critters and creatures of Arizona. But our native plants are under increasing pressure from invasive plant species that are quickly spreading along our roadways, seeping into our urban areas, and working their way into our “untouched” riparian waterways, bajadas, and mountainsides. This issue of The Plant Press (Winter 2020) is dedicated entirely to the understanding of the invasiveness of plant species.
 A Keystone Desert Grass Reaches ArizonaBouteloua diversispicula is a keystone species in large portions of the Plains of Sonora Subdivision in central Sonora, where it plays an important ecological role in binding fragile desert soils.
The Long Journey from BuffelgrassBuffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) has become the most notorious noxious weed in southern Arizona.
Notes on Non-Native Plants in SonoraWith the notable exception of riparian habitats, introduced species usually account for relatively low percentages of local floras.
Opportunistic Weedy Native Sonoran DesertThese plants pose serious threats as ecosystem weeds that displace indigenous species and disrupt ecosystem processes, especially by altering the fire regimes of our desert plant communities that did not evolve
with fire.
Arizona Exotic and Native Plants that are ToxicIn this article only those plants, native or exotic to Arizona, and which pose the greatest risk to animals will be listed.
The Short Journey from Stinknet Introduction and Spread to Eruptive Explosion in Arizona by John Scheuring1 and Michael ChamberlandStinknet (Oncosiphon pilulifer) was largely unknown to Arizonans in 2000. By 2020, it had invaded the Phoenix Metro Area across urban, suburban, and outlying natural areas alike. Rapidly spreading along roadsides, the stinknet infestation is now in full expansion around Tucson, Casa Grande, Buckeye, and Ajo. It is the fastest spreading invasive weed ever to have occurred in Arizona.
This paper traces the brief journey from the first sightings of stinknet in Arizona to its detection in multiple locations in central Arizona, and its explosive growth in the years 2017–2020.
Arizona’s Noxious Weed List by Patti Fenner

Of the large number of exotic plants growing “feral” in Arizona, only a few have caused significant levels of disturbance. Those species are considered to be “noxious weeds,” a term defined by the Weed Science Society of America as any plant designated by federal,  state or local government officials as injurious to public health, agriculture, recreation, wildlife or property.