More treasures at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

After showing you some of the many agaves and cacti growing at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM) outside of Tucson, I’m going to wrap up my trip report with this post on some of the many other wonderful plants found there. As you will see, the variety is staggering. I only took photos of the plants I found interesting; there were many others, especially foliage shrubs, that I skipped.

As impressive as the naturalistic areas are, I found the landscape plantings outside the buildings just as interesting. Just take a look at the masterful combination of shapes, hues and textures in this photo:

Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), Spanish bayonet (Hesperoyucca whipplei) and senna (Senna polyantha)

Spanish bayonet (Hesperoyucca whipplei)

Spanish bayonet (Hesperoyucca whipplei)

And some more yuccas…

Narrow leaf yucca (Yucca angustissima)

Beaked yucca (Yucca rostrata)

I must confess I have a particular weakness for ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). To me, it’s one of the most spectacular desert plants. It’s very sculptural even when bare (the leaves drop during the dry months, which is most of the year), but it’s even more beautiful when in leaf, not to mention when covered with its crimson flowers. Ocotillos usually bloom in the spring but flowers can appear at other times of year, too, providing there has been sufficient rainfall.

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). We were at ASDM during monsoon season so all ocotillos were densely covered with leaves so vibrant, they seemed to glow.

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) and lots of other interesting plants

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) and red bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) and red bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

Red bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

My wife and I fell in love with red bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), which was blooming in many places we went. We’re determined to replace one of our rogue miscanthus with a Caesalpinia pulcherrima this fall (it just arrived in the mail).

From the leaves you can tell that Caesalpinia pulcherrima is in the pea family, Fabaceae. The next three plants are in that family as well.

Senna polyantha

Prairie acacia (Acacia angustissima)

Mescal bean (Calia secundiflora) close up

Mescal bean (Calia secundiflora)

While most desert wildflowers were done blooming, one was still going strong: Hartweg’s evening primose (Calylophus hartwegii). Its papery yellow petals were just beautiful.

Hartweg’s evening primose (Calylophus hartwegii)

Hartweg’s evening primose (Calylophus hartwegii)

While not native to the Sonora Desert, the virgin palm (Dioon edule), a cycad from the east cost of Mexico, looks right at home here. This large bowl contained two plants, one decidedly more blue than the other.

Virgin palm (Dioon edule)

Virgin palm (Dioon edule)

More specimens of Dioon edule are found in the ground near the Warden Oasis Theater.

Virgin palm (Dioon edule)

Virgin palm (Dioon edule)

I found one of my favorite desert grasses, bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa) tucked away behind a wall. It looks good in this terra cotta pot which sits on an upended pot for extra height.

Bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa)

The plant in the next photo may look and sound like a grass, but Bigelow’s beargrass (Nolina bigelovii) is actually a succulent related to yuccas.

Bigelow’s beargrass (Nolina bigelovii)

This beautiful wall color is the perfect backdrop for some other interesting plants as well. The strange-looking plants in the shallow bowls…

… are juvenile boojum trees (Fouquieria columnaris).

Boojum trees (Fouquieria columnaris)

Boojum tree (Fouquieria columnaris)

These Baja California natives are very sculptural even when young but over time—many years since they are slow growing—they turn into one of the most unique plants in the New World:

Boojum trees (Fouquieria columnaris)

The ASDM demonstration garden, which showcases plants that thrive in the Tucson area with little water, also has a few Old World plants, including these aloes:

Aloe striata

Aloe ferox

Aloe glauca

Aloe cryptopoda

A few more African natives:

Desert rose (Adenium obesum)

Resin spurge (Euphorbia resinifera)

And finally a couple of animal photos for good measure:

Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)

Javelina or collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) with ferocious-looking quills.
Not quite anatomically correct, but it’s still cute.

RELATED POSTS:

• Agaves at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• Cacti at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum