The Arizona Native Plant Society

Grass Identification Class at UA Herbarium
2025-10-10 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Phoenix) | Herbarium at Herring Hall on the UofA Campus, Tucson, AZ
Grass Identification Class October 10 & 18, 2025
Back by popular demand, the AZ Native Plant Society and the University of Arizona Herbarium will offer a two-day combination lecture and hands-on workshop for students serious about doing grass ID work. The course goals are to impart sufficient knowledge for students to make wise decisions regarding collection of grasses, to provide complete information on grass morphology, and to teach the use of keys for identification of many Arizona species. Handout materials, dissecting scopes, tools, and pressed grass specimens for study will be provided. The first day will be lecture mixed with hands-on work. The second day will offer a local field trip to learn to ID some grasses in the field and how to press a grass specimen.
Total enrollment for the class is twenty students. Last year the class filled rapidly, and a waiting list was established. This year we will consult the 2024 waiting list and offer class slots to individuals on last year’s waiting list who wish to take the course this year.
Instructors: AZNPS members Sue Rutman, Linda Kennedy, Dr. Lyn Loveless, Dr. Shelley McMahon, Herbarium Curator and Associate Professor, UA, George Ferguson, UA Herbarium Collections Manager, and John Scheuring, AZNPS Conservation Committee Chair, for the field trip.
Sponsors: University of Arizona Herbarium and Arizona Native Plant Society
When: Classroom, October 10, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Field Trip: October 18, time TBD
Where: University of Arizona Herbarium, Herring Hall
Cost: $40
For Registration Contact: Douglas Ripley, jdougripley@gmail.com, 520-909-3132

Tucson Chapter Field Trip
2025-10-11 07:30 - 10:30 | Honeybee Park parking lot, 13880 N Rancho Vistoso Blvd, 5845 N. Camino de la Tierra, Oro Valley, AZ
Honeybee Canyon
Saturday 11 October
7:30 am to 10:30 am
Meet : Honeybee Park parking lot, 13880 N Rancho Vistoso Blvd
Directions : Turn off Oracle Road and drive NW on 1st Ave in Oro Valley. Continue through the Tangerine light where the road becomes Rancho Vistoso Blvd. Past the Vistoso Highlands light the road curves and descends to Honeybee Canyon. Slow down as you cross the bridge as the parking lot entrance is right after the bridge. Best to use a GPS.
Limit: 15 participants
RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com
After an historically dry July and August, Honeybee Canyon received regular rains in the month of September resulting in a surge of plant growth. We will walk one mile up Honeybee wash with granitic shelves on either side that provide natural trellises for desert grasses, flowering plants, and cacti. The sandy canyon floor has vegetative islands of seep willow, burrobrush, and Gooding willow. We will see various desert vine species including wild snapdragon, twinevine, and pipevine. As we slowly gain elevation we will see Justicia longii, Coursetia bushes and a Escobaria cactus. Near the top of the canyon we will see the beautiful Owl petroglyph panel. Several plants will be in bloom at the time of this field trip.
Over the past year AZNPS has joined with the Vistoso Hiker Club in an effort to “rewild Honeybee Canyon”. Volunteers have made a sustained effort to manually and chemically take out buffel/fountaingrass, African lovegrasses and bermudagrass from the areas we will visit. Already native plants are emerging in the controlled areas.

Cochise Chapter Meeting
2025-10-11 10:00 - 12:00
After being in an inactive status for over two years, we are planning to reactivate the Cochise Chapter! An in-person meeting will be held on Saturday morning, October 11, at 10:00 AM at the San Pedro House Nature Center, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, 9800 AZ-90, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635.
We will meet at the ramada behind the house.
The meeting will include a review of the history of the Cochise Chapter and outline projects and activities that could be offered in the future. Participants will be encouraged to offer suggestions for future programs and activities.
Following the meeting, attendees are invited to join a nature walk along the San Pedro River in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
Contacts for more information:
Douglas Ripley, jdougripley@gmail.com, 520-909-3132
Amy Metz, amy13jsa@gmail.com, 303-507-8571

Grass Identification Class Field Trip
2025-10-18
Back by popular demand, the AZ Native Plant Society and the University of Arizona Herbarium will offer a two-day combination lecture and hands-on workshop for students serious about doing grass ID work. The course goals are to impart sufficient knowledge for students to make wise decisions regarding collection of grasses, to provide complete information on grass morphology, and to teach the use of keys for identification of many Arizona species. Handout materials, dissecting scopes, tools, and pressed grass specimens for study will be provided. The first day will be lecture mixed with hands-on work. The second day will offer a local field trip to learn to ID some grasses in the field and how to press a grass specimen.
Total enrollment for the class is twenty students. Last year the class filled rapidly, and a waiting list was established. This year we will consult the 2024 waiting list and offer class slots to individuals on last year’s waiting list who wish to take the course this year.
Instructors: AZNPS members Sue Rutman, Linda Kennedy, Dr. Lyn Loveless, Dr. Shelley McMahon, Herbarium Curator and Associate Professor, UA, George Ferguson, UA Herbarium Collections Manager, and John Scheuring, AZNPS Conservation Committee Chair, for the field trip.
Sponsors: University of Arizona Herbarium and Arizona Native Plant Society
When: Classroom, October 10, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Field Trip: October 18, time TBD
Where: University of Arizona Herbarium, Herring Hall
Cost: $40
For Registration Contact: Douglas Ripley, jdougripley@gmail.com, 520-909-3132

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2025-10-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328., Flagstaff, Arizona
Ashley Doyle, herbalist and forager will speak at the October meeting. As a community herbalist, Ashley emphasizes empowerment in a self-sufficient lifestyle, through her herb work, known as Cinderfly
Apothecary. Her work in the Flagstaff region includes wild food and herbal medicine workshops and the creation of a magazine, The Underground Good Witch Watch. With an academic background in Nutrition and Dietetics, she has been immersed in the Flagstaff community since 2007 sharing the benefits of foraging, wildcrafting, and gardening.

Stay tuned for more details.
We have a new location for 2025!
The meetings are now being held at the Northern Arizona University Biology
Sciences Building, Room 328. Street parking is available nearby. The doors will be
locked in the evening, so please meet at the southern door (the end with the NAU
herbarium) to be let in.

Tucson Chapter Field Trip
2025-10-24 07:30 - 12:00 | Trader Joe Parking lot on SE corner of Oracle/Magee. Just north of the shopping carts. We will carpool., Oro Valley, AZ
Common Sense Passive Water Harvesting in Oro Valley and Oracle
Saturday 24 October
7:30 am to noon
Meet : Trader Joe Parking lot on SE corner of Oracle/Magee. Just north of the shopping carts. We will carpool.
Limit: 15 participants
RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com
We are bringing back our pre-Covid popular annual learning tour about common sense passive water harvesting in Oro Valley and Oracle, led by Chuck LeFevre. Chuck is a berm, rock and boulder placer extraordinaire. Water harvesting landscapes will be visited along roadways, public common areas, and both small and large front yards. You will be impressed by the simplicity and sheer common sense of these passive water harvest projects. In Oracle we will also have a chance to botanize in and around the water harvest sites. For those who have time, we will stay and eat brunch together at the new Riot Grill in Oracle.

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2025-11-07 10:00 - 11:30 | 268 E Stephen’s Way, Tonto Basin, Arizona
Friday, November 7, 2025
AZ Botanists: Past & Present
Presented by Becky Settje, Chapter President
at 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
268 E Stephens Way
Tonto Basin, AZ 85553

Tucson Chapter Meeting
2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | The Environmental and Natural Resources Building, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ
The Sonoran Desert: A Global Bee Biodiversity Hotspot
Presented by Tanner Bland
Program Coordinator, Tucson Bee Collective
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Meeting and Presentation, 7pm in person and on Zoom (link below)
U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S210 (NOTE ROOM CHANGE on 2nd floor)
1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ

The Tucson Bee Collaborative is a partnership between the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, University of Arizona Insect Collection, and Pima Community College. The Collaborative is focused on documenting native bee biodiversity, understanding their local conservation status, and involving students in place-based education while participating in cutting-edge molecular research. Our current research efforts focus on sequencing the DNA of every bee species in the Tucson Basin and providing detailed records of their abundance and diversity through time and space.
In this presentation, Tanner will discuss the evolutionary origins, classification, and life histories of some native, solitary bees from the Sonoran Desert region. He will focus on the evolution of bee-plant relationships, using data from his research, which attempts to document how often bees visit certain plants, particularly those of conservation concern.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER
As the program coordinator for the Tucson Bee Collaborative, Tanner Bland conducts outreach, identifies bee specimens from their collections, and works to expand a DNA barcoding program to include high schools, community colleges, state parks, etc. that help them reach the goal of surveying and monitoring the local bee fauna of the Tucson Basin.
A master’s student in the Entomology department at the University of Arizona, Tanner’s research focuses on using museum bee specimens to understand past and present trends in pollination services performed by native, solitary bees using DNA from pollen grains. Currently, the lab is assessing the diversity of cacti visited by native cactus bees in the genus Diadasia.
Tanner’s other area of expertise is in the ecology, evolution, and phylogenetics of the largest bee genus in North America, Perdita, the fairy bees. They are remarkable in their number of specialized interactions with plants, and Tanner is using them to better understand the evolution of bee diets, how and when specialist bees evolve, and their role in the conservation of rare or imperiled plant species.
ZOOM LINK
As many of you know, we have been having problems getting the Zoom link to work some months. We regret this, but are doing our best. We would be delighted if some tech-savvy member who comes to our meetings in person would like to volunteer to help us with technology for monthly meetings. IF THIS PERSON IS YOU, please email us at nativeplantstucson@gmail.com and identify yourself!
AZNPS Tucson Chapter is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84155874253?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 841 5587 4253
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Phoenix Chapter Meeting
2025-11-22 10:00 - 12:00 | South Mountain Visitor Center, 10409 S. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85042

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2025-12-05 10:00 - 11:30 | US Forest Service Ranger Station, 1009 State Route 260, Payson, Arizona, 85541
Friday, December 5, 2025
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Searching the Sierra Ancha for Rare Plants
Presented by Kenda Svoboda, North Zone Botanist , Tonto National Forest
US Forest Services Ranger Station
1009 State Route 260
Payson, AZ 85541

Tucson Chapter Meeting
2025-12-11 19:00 - 21:00 | The Environmental and Natural Resources Building, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ
SAVE THE DATE! Holiday Chapter Meeting
December 11, 2025
Member’s showcase
We will celebrate the holidays at our December meeting on Thursday, December 11 with hot cider and some holiday treats, so please bring something to share. There will be two short programs with an opportunity to socialize afterward.
Aaron Peretz from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will share his experiences in the Ironwood National Monument. Susan Husband will talk about the University of Arizona Herbarium and the experience of being a volunteer.

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Tucson Chapter Meeting
2026-01-08 19:00 - 20:30 | The Environmental and Natural Resources Building, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ
Thursday, January 8, 7:00 PM. Jack Dash: The Southwest Native Plant Primer:
235 Plants for an Earth Friendly Garden
Monthly chapter meetings featuring local speakers are held the second Thursday of
the month at the ENR2 (Environmental and Natural Resources 2) building, room 225,
on the University of Arizona campus. Meetings are in a hybrid format so that
interested folks can attend in person via Zoom.
If you are not on our mailing list and wish to attend one of our meetings on Zoom,
email us (nativeplantstucson@gmail.com) the week before the meeting requesting the
zoom link.

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2026-01-09 10:00 - 11:30 | Payson Public Library, Payson, AZ, 85541, United States
Grand Canyon—More Than Just Beautiful, Awe-Inspiring Views, Neat Geology & Weird Squirrels!
Presented by Wendy Hodgson, Herbarium Curator Emerita & Sr. Research Botanist, Desert Botanical Garden
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Payson Public Library
328 N McLane Road
Payson, AZ 85541

Cochise Chapter Meeting
2026-01-31 10:00 - 12:00 | Sierra Vista Public Library, 2600 E. Tacoma Street, Sierra Vista, Arizona
The chapter has scheduled its first formal meeting for January 31, 2026, at 10:00 AM in the conference room of the Sierra Vista Library, 2600 E. Tacoma Street, Sierra Vista. For more information, contact Amy Metz (amy13jsa@gmail.com).
Saturday, January 31.
Doug Ripley: The Natural History of the Dragoon Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona
Doug is a charter member and the long-time president of the Cochise Chapter of the Arizona Native Plant Society. His presentation will illustrate his observations of the Dragoon Mountains flora and fauna using photos he took during the past 17 years, as part of a study he undertook with Jim Verrier to document the flora and vegetation of the mountains.
The presentation will take place in the conference room of the Sierra Vista Library, 2600 E Tacoma Street, Sierra Vista.

Tonto Basin Field Trip
2026-02-06 10:00 - 11:30
Friday, February 6, 10:00 – 11:30 AM.
Teri Balaska: Sonoran Sentinels: Keystone Guardians of the Desert Botany Walk
Teri is vice president of the Tonto Basin Chapter. The botany walk will take place at the Saguaro Monitoring Site. This is located three miles east of Highway 188 on Greenback Valley Road/Forest Service Road 71 (across from the new Tonto Creek Bridge), Tonto Basin.

Reflections on Hualapai Ethnobotany of the Grand Canyon
2026-02-08 18:30 - 20:00 | Mission Garden, 946 W. Mission Lane, Tucson, AZ, 85745, United States
Screenshot

Tucson Chapter Meeting
2026-02-12 19:00 - 20:30 | The Environmental and Natural Resources Building, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ
Thursday, February 12, 7:00 PM. Francesca Claverie, Borderlands Restoration
Network: Propagation for Restoration

Monthly chapter meetings featuring local speakers are held the second Thursday of
the month at the ENR2 (Environmental and Natural Resources 2) building, room 225,
on the University of Arizona campus. Meetings are in a hybrid format so that
interested folks can attend in person via Zoom.
If you are not on our mailing list and wish to attend one of our meetings on Zoom,
email us (nativeplantstucson@gmail.com) the week before the meeting requesting the
zoom link.

Tonto Basin Chapter Botany Walk
2026-02-26 08:00 - 17:00 | Washington Park, Payson
Friday, April 3, 10:00 – 11:30 AM.
Kenda Svoboda, North Zone Botanist, Tonto National Forest: Botany Walk
Washington Park (north of Payson)

Tonto Basin Chapter Plant Walk
2026-03-06 10:00 - 11:30 | Tonto National Monument
Friday, March 6, 10:00 – 11:30 AM:
Plants of the Upland Sonoran Desert Botany Walk
Tonto National Monument, 26260 N. AZ Highway 188, Roosevelt, AZ

Tonto Basin Chapter Meeting
2026-03-07 10:00 - 23:30 | Payson Public Library, Payson, AZ, 85541, United States
Saturday, March 7, 10:00 – 11:30 AM: Jack Dash, The Southwest Native Plant
Primer book launch with author Jack Dash.
Payson Public Library, 328 N. McLane Road, Payson, AZ 85541

Tucson Chapter Meeting
2026-03-12 19:00 - 20:30 | U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S225 — 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ, 1064 E. Lowell ST, Tucson
Thursday, March 12, 7:00 PM.
Bob Perrill: Living with Giants
This program will provide an overview of a Sonoran Desert keystone species, the saguaro. All aspects of its life cycle will be explored, including animal relationships and environmental pressures

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2026-03-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328.
Tuesday, March 17, 7:00 PM. Julie Crawford: A Botanical Journey
Julie Crawford will discuss the career path that lead her to write and illustrate her recent book, Flagstaff Plants in Black and White: 160 of the Most Common Plants of Our Area. Copies of her book and greeting cards are available for purchase at The Arboretum at Flagstaff, Babbitt Outdoor Outfitters, Babies to Kids, Bookman’s, Brightside Bookshop, Lily of the Field Nursery, and Winter Sun Trading Company.
Julie Crawford is a plant ecologist with a broad range of botanical, conservation, and outreach experience. Her professional career includes over 35 years in the fields of botany, plant ecology, horticulture, and conservation with federal, state, and non-profit organizations throughout the western United States. Much of her research over the years has been on direct and indirect impacts of human activity on plant species, communities, and ecosystems of the western United States, including post-fire recovery, exotic plant invasion, livestock grazing, urban development, recreational activity, and climate change. She holds three university degrees in this field.
The meetings are now being held at the Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building,
Room 328. Street parking is available nearby.
Register in advance once in order to attend any of the meetings virtually:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/gWhRf79ZSEuoMH8rpAf91g
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information
about joining the meeting. Use the link Zoom sends or the passcode Flagstaff! to
join the meeting.

Phoenix Chapter Garden Tour
2026-03-28 09:00 - 13:00
Saturday, March 28, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Home Garden Tour
This self-guided tour will feature a curated selection of home gardens across the Phoenix metropolitan area that highlights the beauty, livability, and ecological value of low-desert Sonoran native plants. Visitors will explore gardens at their own pace, chat informally with hosts, and see many different approaches to gardening with natives—from small and container gardens to established landscapes, pollinator habitats, and gardens shaped by real-world constraints.
To attend the event, please register using this form: https://forms.gle/wixLwxwJ8wE8vVwU8

Tucson Chapter Meeting
2026-04-09 19:00 - 20:30 | U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S225 — 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ, 1064 E. Lowell ST, Tucson
Thursday, April 9, 7:00 PM.
Carrianne Funicelli, owner of Strategic Habitat
Enhancements: Landscaping for the Future
Watch our chapter page (https://aznps.com/chapters/tucson/) on the website for
more information.

Phoenix Chapter Plant Swap
2026-04-11 12:00 - 15:00 | Clark Park Community Center, 19th St and Roosevelt St, Tempe, AZ
Saturday, April 11, 12:00 – 3:00 PM: Plant Swap
Chat with fellow plant enthusiasts about your plant passion. Trade, collect seeds, and have fun. Clark Park Community Center, Elm Room, 19th St and Roosevelt St, Tempe.

Cochise Chapter Event at the San Pedro House
2026-04-12 09:00 - 13:00
Celebrate the San Pedro at the San Pedro House
by the Friends of the San Pedro River
April 12, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
The Cochise Chapter encourages its members to join the “Celebrate the San Pedro” event at the San Pedro House, a vibrant spring festival hosted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Tucson Field Office. The event includes talks, displays, guided tours, and kids’ activities, making it a perfect day for families and friends to enjoy and learn about the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
The event is free and open to all. Participants can also join an early morning birding event led by Friends of the San Pedro River at 7:00 AM before the main event begins. The San Pedro House is located eight miles east of Sierra Vista on Highway 90, within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. The Cochise Chapter will host an information table at the event.

Flagstaff Invasive Plant Pull
2026-04-18 08:00 - 10:00
Invasive Plant Pulls
Please save these dates for Invasive Plant Pulls in Flagstaff. Watch for more details or contact
PlantRestorationProject@gmail.com
Saturday, April 18, 8:00 – 10:00 AM, in collaboration with the City’s Earth Day events
Saturday, May 2, 9:00 AM – noon
Saturday, May 30, 9:00 AM – noon
Meet at the east entrance to Bushmaster Park

Habitat Restoration at Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve
2026-04-18 08:00 - 10:00 | Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, 3711 W Deer Valley Rd, Glendale, AZ, 85308, United States
Join us in habitat restoration in partnership with the Maricopa Bird Alliance. The work will involve digging a water source for native wildlife, planting native plants, removing invasive stinknet, and dispersing native seeds.

Flagstaff Chapter Meeting
2026-04-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Northern Arizona University Biology Sciences Building, Room 328., Flagstaff, Arizona
Tuesday, April 21, 7:00 PM.
Claire Reynolds and Olivia Steinmetz: Pollination of
Globemallow (Sphaeralcea), Thistle (Cirsium) and Pediocactus
NAU student Claire Reynolds and recent NAU graduate Olivia Steinmetz will each give a short presentation on plants and their pollinators. Steinmetz will discuss the pollination and reproductive biology of two endemic cacti of northern Arizona (Pediocactus peeblesianus var. fickeiseniae and Pediocactus paradinei) and Reynolds will discuss the pollination of Globemallow (Sphaeralcea) and Thistle (Cirsium) and the changes due to climate change.
Hybrid meeting: In-person and via Zoom

Deem Hills Nature Hike
2026-04-26 08:00 - 10:00 | Deem Hills Recreation Area, 5050 W Andrea Ln, Phoenix, AZ, 85083, United States
Join us for a nature hike through Deem Hills! We will start with a short presentation on plants then start the hike (2.8m).
