Integrative Natural History of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Part 6: A Vibrant Sonoran Desert Plant Community

Integrative Natural History of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Part 6: A Vibrant Sonoran Desert Plant Community | Arizona, USA

(Updated on March 11, 2025)

While I'm not sure where I was on Puerto Blanco Drive when I took this shot, I know I was well past the point at the Pinkley Peak picnic area where the road becomes a stony, one-way, high-clearance-only track. My best guess is that I was just east of the northern end of the Puerto Blanco Mountains.

Isn't it a shame that deserts are such bare, bleak, and lifeless places? I mean, isn't that what those Dune movies show? Why would a botanist ever one to visit one?

Of course, this photo illustrates that such arid environments—the Sonoran Desert chief among them—often feature amazingly diverse, drought-adapted plant populations.

Here the largest and most eye-catching species are the tubular, pale-green Organ Pipe Cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) and the darker, slender-branched Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). The latter is splendid indeed when it produces brilliant red flowers at its stem tips after a good rain.

In addition, there are quite a number of other, lower xerophytic (aridity-tolerant) plant varieties growing up through this hillside's desert pavement.

To see the other photos and descriptions in this set, visit my my Integrative Natural History of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument album.

Taken in: Mexico / Sonora / Aragón (show map)

Taken on: February 26, 1992

Tags:

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Arizona

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Sets appears in: • Homage to the Basin & Range Province • Integrative Natural History of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona more » • Mountains & Hills; Mesas & Buttes; Hogbacks, Cuestas, & Flatirons • Natural History: Arizona • Ortsinn: Landscapes & Localities • Phytophilia « less

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Camera: MAKER NAME 96660, f/1.8, 1/30 sec, 2.8mm, ISO 50 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	MAKER NAME 96660
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	2.8mm
ISO:	50
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
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