The Arizona Native Plant Society

Tucson Chapter Meeting
2025-10-09 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Phoenix) | U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S225 — 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ, 1064 E. Lowell ST, Tucson
Arizona’s Night Shift: Bats as Ecological Heroes
Presented by Susan Chappel
Kartchner Caverns State Parks

Thursday, October 9, 2025
Meeting and Presentation, 7pm in person and on Zoom (link below)
U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S225
1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ
Susan Chappel will introduce us to the hidden lives of Arizona bats and the essential roles they play in our environment, as predators and natural pest control agents and as pollinating superstars for a variety of native plant species. Bat populations are under threat from a spectrum of challenges, and our speaker will discuss actions we can take to assist our flying mammalian neighbors.
Susan Chappel is a ranger with Arizona State Parks and Trails at Kartchner Caverns. She leads cave tours and participates in outreach at this amazing State Park. In the summer, when the Karchner Big Room closes to protect its breeding bat colonies, she guides bat walks at the Caverns. She is passionate about sharing the love and respect she has for our wildlife. Her interest in bats was first ignited when her youngest daughter fell in love with the book Stellaluna. Susan encouraged her interest and it has led her to her current role in bat education and outreach.
ZOOM LINK:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88451482734?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 884 5148 2734
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Master Gardeners Green Valley Plant Sale:
2025-10-03 08:00 - 12:00 | 530 E Whitehouse Canyon Rd., Green Valley, AZ

Natural History Institute Presents Grass Workshop: Exploring Grass Anatomy and Identification a workshop with Sue Smith and Cheryl Casey
2025-09-25 09:00 - 12:00 | Natural History Institute, 126 N. Marina, Prescott, AZ, 86001, United States
Step into the world of grasses in this hands-on botany class, where you’ll explore the intricate anatomy that makes these plants essential to ecosystems. Sue Smith, president of the Prescott Native Plant Society, and Cheryl Casey, the NHI Collections Manager, will guide you in taking an in-depth look at the unique features of grass leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds.

Working with both live and preserved specimens, you’ll learn how to identify grasses based on key structural traits. Using hand lenses and microscopes, you’ll examine defining features such as ligules, sheaths, and inflorescences in fine detail. Along the way, we’ll discuss the ecological roles of grasses, their evolutionary adaptations, and their importance in shaping landscapes.

No prior experience is required, just a curiosity about the plant world. By the end of the class, you’ll walk away with foundational skills in grass identification and a new appreciation for the quiet complexity of the grasses beneath your feet.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grass-workshop-exploring-grass-anatomy-and-identification-tickets-1641359032049?aff=oddtdtcreator

Flagstaff Festival of Science
2025-09-13 - 2025-09-28
The Flagstaff Festival of Science is a free annual 10-day event wholly designed to promote awareness and enthusiasm for science in and about northern Arizona and beyond, and is fondly known as the Best 10 Days of the Year. Established in 1990, it is the longest, continuously running, entirely free science festival in the world. https://scifest.org/festival/

Tucson Chapter Monsoon Mixer
2025-09-11 18:00 - 20:00
SAVE THE DATE – Monsoon Mixer!
Thursday September 11, 6:00 – 8:00 pm @ Slow Body Brewery, 831 E. 17th Street, Tucson

COME RECONNECT WITH YOUR NATIVE PLANT ROOTS! This is a great chance to see old friends and make new ones, all while enjoying a pleasant evening on the Slow Body Patio.
Beverages will be available from Slow Body
Light refreshments provided (bring something to share if you wish)
Food truck available for more substantial fare
· Preview of the upcoming Tucson Native Plant year
· PLANT SWAP – bring an extra plant or two, and swap with your friends
· Book for sale – we will have a limited number of copies of the new book by our friend and recent past president Jack Dash and Luke Takata, “The Southwest Native Plant Primer: 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden,” just out from Timber Press. See the review in the last Plant Press Arizona. Copies are $24.99 and we will take checks or cash (no credit cards).

Tucson Chapter Field Trip: Madera Canyon Nature Walk
2025-08-30 08:00 - 12:00
Madera Canyon Proctor Loop Nature Walk
Saturday, August 30, 8am to noon
Meet at Proctor Parking Area, Madera Canyon
Limit: 12 participants . RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com
Five plant communities come together on Madera Canyon’s Proctor Loop Trail. Join naturalist Doug Moore for an ANPS monsoon nature walk in the canyon. We’ll take a stroll around “the Loop” looking for monsoon plants/flowers, and also insects, birds/nests and other nature.
Park & meet at the Proctor Parking Area. We will walk the .75 mile Proctor Loop. The monsoon season has brought precipitation to the canyon; both summer plants and animals are active. This is an easy to moderate walk on mostly paved trail with some uneven sections and mild altitude loss/gain. (We may take the primitive trail up to the upper bridge below the White House Loop, if not too overgrown!)
Bring a bag lunch; the group can picnic at Proctor (or higher in canyon if too warm) after the walk.To participate, you MUST be able to walk/stand for several hours. There are benches along the trail at intervals.
Please wear comfortable walking/hiking shoes. Bring water, binocs, hand lens, sun hat, & insect repellent; optional: camera, walking stick
Don’t wait to sign up as space is limited; walks often fill up fast!
Cautions:
1) Chiggers occur in the grassy habitat around/above Proctor. Bring insect repellent or powdered sulfur, consider wearing long pants and stay on the main trail as much as possible.
2) Monsoon weather can change quickly; safety is our utmost priority! If thunderstorms develop or lightening becomes possible, we will stop the walk and return to the parking area as quickly as possible.
3) There can be lots of wildlife on the road to the canyon in the morning. Please drive carefully and watch for wildlife! Enjoy these special animals and take care not to run them over!

Tucson Chapter Field Trip
2025-08-25 07:30 - 09:30
Roadside Grass Field Trip
Sunday 10 August 2025, 7:30 am to 9:30 am
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 brimming with various grass species. We will see 12-14 native grasses and 3 invasive grasses. This will be a great way to learn our common grasses by seeing them side-by-side in bloom.
In addition to grasses, we will walk through swathes of blooming Arizona Caltrop. A highlight of the tour will be 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.

Tucson Chapter Field Trip: Rainwater Harvesting and Native Plants
2025-08-23 07:30 - 09:30
Field Trip – Rainwater Harvesting and Native Plants
Saturday 23 August 2025, 730 am to 930 am
Meet on the northwest side of the Casa Del Rio parking lot at 1060 S. Pantano Road (one block north of 22nd Street, west side of Pantano)
Limit: 12 participants. RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com

Join Jennifer Patton and Ben Wilder of Wilder Landscape Architects on a tour of a recently constructed streetside stormwater harvesting project. This project, funded by the City of Tucson’s Storm to Shade program, features twenty-four species of container grown native plants including four species of grasses, and a seed mix consisting of an additional thirty-three native species (12 of those grasses). Learn how the City is putting roadway runoff to work on City-owned parcels to grow shade.
Wilder will provide an overview of the project, and provide identification tips for the following grasses that you will see:

Hilaria mutica, tobosa grass
Digitaria californica,Arizona cottontop
Pappophorum vaginatum, whiplash pappus grass
Sporobolus airoides, alkali sacaton

If we are lucky, there will also be successful germination of the numerous native plant species that were seeded, and we can have fun identifying those as well.
We will not park or walk on busy roadways but bring a reflective vest if you have one.
To learn more about Storm to Shade and see the projects that are underway, visit https://climateaction.tucsonaz.gov/pages/gsi

Tucson Chapter Field Trip: Summer Blooms at the Waterman site
2025-08-17 07:00 - 10:00
Summer Plant Walk : Waterman Restoration Site
Sunday 17 August, 2025, 7 am to 10 am
Directions : Turn off I-10 onto Avra Valley Rd (Exit 242), turn west and drive 19 miles straight ahead. Turn left after the brown Interpretive Sites sign and drive one mile, bearing left.
Bring : Plenty of water and wear a hat.
Limit: 15 participants, RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com
Join Arizona Native Plant Society conservation chairman John Scheuring
on a stroll through this impressive desert restoration site 15 years after getting a monoculture of buffelgrass under control and installing passive water harvesting. The setting is a limestone foothill slope snuggled at the base of the Waterman Mountains on Ironwood Forest National Monument.
We will see many of 130 native species growing on the 18 acres with focus on the keystone species that serve to restore and maintain the desert. Trailing four o’clock, Desert Hibiscus, Prickly lettuce, Desert Fairy Duster and various Abutilon species will be in bloom. In addition we will see actively growing bio-crust composed of a mix of mosses and lichens. We will see transplanted saguaros rescued by TCSS as well as the successful use of discarded Christmas Trees to reduce erosion in channels and headcuts. We will walk slowly over uneven ground for about a mile.
For more information on the Waterman restoration project visit https://aznps.com/the-waterman-restoration-project/

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2025-08-16 14:00 - 15:00 | The Museum of Norhern Aizona, Flagstaff, Arizona
Authors Jack Dash and Luke Takata will be on hand at the Museum of Northern Arizona Saturday August 16 from 2-3 p.m. for a launch of their new book The Southwest Native Plant Primer: 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden.

The Southwest Native Plant Primer is your essential guide to 235 native wildflowers, grasses, vines, cacti, and trees ideal for creating a beautiful garden that supports the environment. Designed for gardeners of all experience levels, this book highlights plants suited to the unique landscapes of New Mexico, Arizona, and the southern regions of Utah and Colorado. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to deepen your native plant knowledge, this primer offers practical inspiration for making a lasting impact in your yard—and beyond.
The book ties in perfectly with the Museum’s Shifting Life Zones exhibit, on view now in the Courtyard Gallery and the Jaime Major Golightly Courtyard.
Non members will need to pay the admission fee to get in. This will not be recorded or available by zoom.

Tucson Chapter Field Trip: Catalina State Park wildflowers
2025-08-16 07:00 - 10:00
Summer Bloomer Plant Walk : Catalina State Park
Saturday 16 August, 2025, 7 am to 10 am
Meet : Drive straight ahead past the CSP entrance to the north side of the main parking lot. We will meet at the kiosk near the cactus tile mosaic wall
Bring : Plenty of water and wear a hat.
Limit: 15 participants. RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com

Join Arizona Native Plant Society members on a leisurely walk through Upland Desert and Riparian plant communities along the 3-mile Canyon Loop trail. We will see reliable summer bloomers like Arizona Caltrop, the Orange Flameflower, Desert Honeysuckle and various Four o’clock species. An early summer morning is a great time to learn about key desert plants; including trees, grasses, and cacti. Besides the plants we will learn about geology and critters great and small.

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2025-07-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328., Flagstaff, Arizona
Tuesday, July 15, 7:00 PM:
Adair Patterson. Nursery Restoration Efforts of an
Isolated Population of Bebb’s Willow (Salix bebbiana) in Northern Arizona

Bebb’s Willow. Photo: Max Licher
Bebb’s Willow (Salix bebbiana) populations in the lower Four Corners states are rare and isolated due to a number of climatic factors including global warming and glacial retreat. Located on the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona’s largest stand of Bebb’s Willow has historically flourished, but is currently at risk of extirpation. Due to a lack of reproductive success, prevalence of stand replacing fire and inconsistent precipitation, there has been very little seedling recruitment over the past century and 0% recruitment recorded in the past three decades. The NAU Research Greenhouse in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy are taking steps to help preserve the existing Bebb’s trees and restore fresh seedling to the area.
Adair is the manager of the NAU Research Greenhouse, a master gardener, and a botanical enthusiast in Flagstaff.
Hybrid meeting: in-person and via Zoom.
Register in advance once in order to attend any of the meetings virtually:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fCOe0-qlSZmMeGZNsNfV_A
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Use the link Zoom sends or the passcode [REDACTED] to join the meeting

Flagstaff Chapter Field Trip
2025-06-21
Saturday, June 21: Becky Hardy. Aspen Corner, San Francisco Peaks
Becky will lead a butterfly walk at Aspen Corner, Snowbowl Rd.
Field trips generally leave from south end of the Walmart parking lot on Woodlands Boulevard on Saturday following the talk, April-October. Carpooling is usually available. Please watch social media account for specific details

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2025-06-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328., Flagstaff, Arizona
Tuesday, June 17, 7:00 PM:
Becky Hardy. Butterflies: How To Attract Them To Your Garden
Have you ever wondered how to attract more butterflies to your garden? Join Becky Hardy to find out. She will share tips on how to create a successful butterfly habitat as well as information about the different families of butterflies. Along with this information, she will share photos of some of the high-elevation species one can expect to find in the Flagstaff area.
Becky is first and foremost a butterfly enthusiast. She has had a lifelong passion, interaction, and observation of butterflies. Over the years, she has reared thousands of butterflies across multiple species. Becky shares her passion for butterflies with others by presenting to member-based organizations and at various nature festivals, as well as leading butterfly walks, garden talks and citizen science events. She also shares her enthusiasm for birds, butterflies, and native plants by facilitating adult, youth and school events. She is Northern Arizona Audubon Society’s education chair and most recently co-founded a local chapter of the nationally recognized North American
Butterfly Association. The local chapter, Butterfly Enthusiasts of Northern Arizona (BENA), is a member based wildlife conservation and education nonprofit working to create a world where butterflies thrive, for the benefit of nature and people throughout Sedona, Flagstaff and the Verde Valley. For more information, visit Butterfly Enthusiasts of Northern Arizona.
Hybrid meeting: In person and via Zoom.
Register in advance once in order to attend any of the meetings virtually:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fCOe0-qlSZmMeGZNsNfV_A
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information
about joining the meeting. Use the link Zoom sends or the passcode [REDACTED] to
join the meeting.

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2025-05-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328., Flagstaff, Arizona
Tuesday, May 20, 7:00 PM:
Dr. James Smith. Recent Molecular Phylogenetic
Analyses of Alpine Spring Parsley, Pseudocymopterus montanus
Alpine spring parsley (Pseudocymopterus montanus) is known to be highly variable morphologically and in its phenology. Dr. James Smith will present preliminary results that separate what we commonly call Pseudocymopterus montanus into several separate well-supported clades.
Dr. Smith is the Director of the Snake River Plains Herbarium at Boise State University. His research interests include the phylogenetics of western North American Apiaceae and using Sanger sequencing techniques to discover cryptic or near cryptic species within many widespread species.
This will be a virtual event with Dr. Smith presenting from Idaho. The presentation will not be
recorded.

2025-05-08 19:00 - 20:00 | ENR2 Building, U of A Campus, Room S225 and on zoom, 1064 E Lowell Street, Tucson
TUCSON CHAPTER MEETING FOR MAY 2025
Thursday, May 8 2025 at 7:00 pm
Perin McNelis, Native Plant Program Manager at Borderlands Restoration Network, will give a talk about seed dormancy types, germination requirements, dormancy breaking treatments, and propagation protocols for growing native plants from seeds.
Germinating seedlings with seed coats still attached
Since 2015 Perin’s work has been focused on plant material development for revegetation projects with a focus on erosion mitigation and watershed restoration in the Madrean Archipelago ecoregion. In her current role as Native Plant Program Manager at Borderlands Restoration Network she curates an extensive ex-situ seed collection, designs regional seed-based revegetation projects, coordinates seed harvest efforts, supervises seasonal crews and year-round horticulture staff, and writes/manages numerous grants and contracts. Perin is passionate about watershed restoration, agroecology, binational collaboration, and all things native seeds.
Perin McNelis, Borderlands Restoration Network

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2025-05-02 10:00 - 13:00 | 268 E Stephen’s Way, Tonto Basin, Arizona
Friday, May 2, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM:
Laird Blackwell. Wildflower Adventures
Laird is the author of numerous wildflower books. He will share his field work in this inspiring presentation.
A year-end potluck will follow in the Chapter President’s garden/arboretum, 268 E Stephens Way, Tonto Basin. Please bring a dish to share.

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2025-04-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328., Flagstaff, Arizona
Tuesday, April 15, 7:00 PM: Amelia Blake. Propagating Native Plants
Growing uncultivated plant varieties can be challenging. They often
have seed dormancy, unique soil needs, and don’t grow well in
containers. Because of this, many native plants are not available in
the nursery trade and native plant enthusiasts are left to cultivate
their own. Amelia will discuss strategies for successful native-plant
propagation.
Amelia is co-owner of Lily of the Filed Nursery, which focuses on growing native and heirloom plants that are especially well-adapted to the Flagstaff area. Amelia spent her childhood working with plants at the NAU Research Greenhouse during her father’s tenure as greenhouse manager. She received her B.S. in Plant Sciences from the University of Arizona. She then worked at Native Plant and Seed for three years before opening Lily of the Field Nursery in 2020 with her husband. She sells at most local markets, runs the Gardeners’ Market in east Flagstaff each spring, and sells by appointment from her home in the Upper Greenlaw neighborhood. Hybrid meeting: in-person and via Zoom.
Register in advance once in order to attend any of the meetings virtually:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fCOe0-qlSZmMeGZNsNfV_A
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information
about joining the meeting. Use the link Zoom sends or the passcode [REDACTED] to
join the meeting

Tucson Chapter Meeting for April
2025-04-10 19:00 - 20:30 | ENR2 Building, U of A Campus, Room S225 and on zoom, 1064 E Lowell Street, Tucson
Growing for Restoration – The Pima County Native Plant Nursery Program
Presented by Amy Belk, Director of the Pima County Native Plant Nursery
Pima County’s unique Native Plant Nursery Program supports the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan by providing resources for local wildlife within public space projects, and by salvaging and replacing native plant species disturbed by public development projects. This talk explores some of the key differences between growing for restoration and growing for production or retail markets, and some of the exciting ways our program is helping to bridge the botanical gaps between community development and conservation of our natural and cultural resources.

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2025-04-04 10:00 - 11:30 | Tonto Basin Chamber of Commerce, 45675 N Arizona Highway 188, Tonto Basin, AZ, 85553, United States
Friday, April 4, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM:
Patti Fenner, Executive Director of the
Friends of the Tonto National Forest
Patti will share information on how to ID, remove, dispose, and report Stinknet, an aggressive, nonnative invasive weed that has arrived in the Tonto Basin.
We will meet at Tonto Basin Chamber of Commerce,
45675 N Arizona Highway 188, Tonto Basin

BioBlitz in the Santa Ritas
2025-03-23 10:00 - 13:00
March 23, 2025 at 10AM
The Great Old Broads for Wilderness are planning a BioBlitz on Sunday March 23, 2025 at Barrel Canyon on the east side of the Santa Rita Mountains, close to the areas imperiled by the Copper World mine. The boundaries are directly over an aquifer that is sustaining riparian trees and other plants. The goals of the Bio-Blitz are to:
• Identify any rare, threatened, or endangered species that are adjacent to Copper World mine
• Create community awareness for people who care about our Sky Islands being destroyed
• Generate a groundswell of opposition to future gambits by Hudbay (Canadian mining company)
• Engender delight in this glorious part of our state!
Please register for this event here: https://forms.gle/CGDWXVp5QUCvkDoX8
An iNaturalist project has been created that you can join today. Please join this project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/rosemont-barrel-canyon-bioblitz
The road to the BioBlitz site is dirt but is navigable by SUVs and trucks. Cars with a higher clearance should be fine as well. We’ve created a carpool signup sheet which you can find here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bj8dcyxWUfT85ixc8-9cfS9lMMkDgpmFVCyeHXIny8Y/edit?usp=sharing

Once we hear from you, we will send out additional details about parking and the meetup location. Please consider joining us! It’s going to be a fun day in a beautiful place!

CELEBRATE THE 135th ANNIVERSARY OF THE U of A HERBARIUM
2025-03-20 17:00 - 20:00 | Tohono Chuol Gardens, 7366 N Paseo Del Norte, Tucson, AZ 85704, Tucson, AZ, 85704, United States
ARIZ is 135 years old! “ARIZ” is the official code for the Herbarium of the University of Arizona – and it’s celebrating its birthday! Come spend an evening under the stars celebrating this amazing legacy. All your favorite native plant and botanist friends will be there!

· For tickets, please visit this Eventbrite site.
· For more information, please click here to visit our website or email us at herbarium@cals.arizona.edu.

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328., Flagstaff, Arizona
Tuesday, March 18, 7:00 PM: Catherine Young. Analysis of Potential Hazards to
the Future Conservation of the Endemic Alpine Species Packera franciscana
Catherine Young, a junior at the NAU School of Forestry, will present the
important conservation breakthroughs that she has made for the threatened
alpine sunflower, Packera franciscana. The species is only found near Flagstaff,
above the treeline of the San Francisco Peaks. She successfully established
the first captive population of these plants outside of a greenhouse setting.
Her observations in the field suggest that a new hybrid zone has formed
within the last 10 years. She has also created the first tissue culture protocol
to produce genetically identical plants to those in the wild. The most recent
developments are laying the foundation for her future project that will
attempt to predict the response of the species to potential hazards such as
climate change, competition with hybrids, and wildfire. Hybrid meeting:
in-person and via Zoom.

Register in advance once in order to attend any of the meetings virtually:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fCOe0-qlSZmMeGZNsNfV_A
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information
about joining the meeting. Use the link Zoom sends or the passcode [REDACTED] to
join the meeting

Tucson Chapter Meeting for March 2025
2025-03-17 19:00 - 20:30 | ENR2 Building, U of A Campus, Room S225 and on zoom, 1064 E Lowell Street, Tucson
MONDAY March 17 (NOTE DAY CHANGE!!!) 2025
7:00 pm ENR2 Room S225, 1064 E Lowell, Tucson AZ
Melissa Sevigny, co-author of “Brave The Wild River” will discuss the two pioneering women botanists who mapped the plants of the Grand Canyon.

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2025-03-07 10:00 - 11:30 | Tonto Basin Chamber of Commerce, 45675 N Arizona Highway 188, Tonto Basin, AZ, 85553, United States
Friday, March 7, 10:00 – 11:30 AM. Ashley Hall, Rangeland Management Agent
Ashley will share her work on the Tonto National Forest.
This presentation will be held at the Tonto Basin Chamber of Commerce,
45675 N Arizona Highway 188, Tonto Basin

Tucson Chapter Meeting for February 2025
2025-02-13 19:00 - 20:30 | ENR2 Building, U of A Campus, Room S225 and on zoom, 1064 E Lowell Street, Tucson
Uninvited Guests – The Lifestyles of Parasitic Plants
Presented by
Pinau Merlin
Naturalist and Author
Parasitic plants have evolved fascinating adaptive strategies for their lifestyles, as well as providing some surprising benefits to wildlife and people. Although only 1% of angiosperms are parasitic, they are very successful. Let’s have a closer look at these plants to see what’s going on under the surface.
Arceuthobium microcarpum on pine

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2025-02-07 10:00 - 11:30
Friday, February 7, 10:00 – 11:30 AM:
Teri Balaska: Plant Families and Plant Specialties
Location: TBD
For more information closer to the date, contact tontobasinnativeplants@gmail.com

Online Master Gardener Class for Northern Arizona
2025-01-20 08:00 - 2025-05-11 17:00
2025_Spring MG Online Flyer

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2025-01-17 10:00 - 11:30 | Payson Public Library, Payson, AZ, 85541, United States
Friday, January 17, 10:00 – 11:30 AM:
Wendy Hodgson ; Pre-contact Agaves in the Southwestern United States: Rediscovering Lost Crops Among the Hohokam and Other Arizona Cultures
Location: Payson Public Library, 328 N McLane Rd, Payson, AZ

2025-01-09 19:00 - 20:30 | ENR2 Building, U of A Campus, Room S225 and on zoom, 1064 E Lowell Street, Tucson
Tucson Chapter Meeting – January 2025
The Amazing World of Yuccas and Their Pollinators
Presented by Wendy Hodgson
Senior Research Botanist at the Desert Botanical Garden
7pm in person and on Zoom
U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S225
1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ
Yuccas are a widespread and important keystone species in our desert and mountain landscapes throughout the Southwest. Wendy will share the story of the incredible relationship between yuccas and hesperoyuccas and their pollinators. She will highlight incredible research by passionate investigators from the time these pollination relationships were first announced to the scientific world to the present, focusing on species occurring within our Sonoran and Mohave deserts. She will also address important questions as to how these pollination mutualisms will be affected by climate challenges.
Wendy Hodgson has lived in and loved the Sonoran Desert for 55 years. She is Herbarium Curator Emerita and Senior Research Botanist at the Desert Botanical Garden. She studies southwest U.S. and northern Mexico floristics, with an emphasis on the Grand Canyon region. She also investigates the ecology of rare and endemic plants of the Southwestern US and northern Mexico and conducts research on the taxonomy and systematics of Agave, Yucca, and Hesperoyucca, including the study of pre-contact agave domesticated species. As an ethnobotanist, Wendy also specializes in Sonoran Desert food plants, and is the author of Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert. She has collected over 33,500 herbarium specimens, including thousands of specimens in difficult groups like Agavaceae and Cactaceae. Wendy works to foster diverse participation and collaboration in science by all interested parties, including community scientists and especially Indigenous Peoples, whose voices we have neglected to hear for far too long.
Come to learn from Wendy about the fascinating stories of yuccas and their pollinators!
