John M. White Garden Curator UTEP Chihuahuan Desert Gardens Trans-Pecos Vegetation
Elevation - 1000 - 8700 feet
Chihuahuan Desert Scrub - lowest elevation
Grasslands - 3500-5200
Oak/Juniper/Pinyon woodlands - 5500-7500
Conifer Forest - Highest elevations
Riparian Communities - Rio Grande/Pecos Trans-Pecos Quick Facts*
Roughly 32,000 square miles
About the size of the state of Maine
Chihuahuan Desert is largest in NA
1/3 of the desert is in the USA
Approximately 450 woody species
21 species of oaks
* Source Trees and Shrubs of the Trans- Pecos and adjacent areas, Michael A. Powell
Riparian Areas Willows, cottonwoods, acacia, mesquite and ash.
Rio Grand Cottonwood, Populus deltoides var wislizeni Goodding willow, Salix gooddingii
Screwbean mesquite, Prosopis pubescens
Sweet acacia, Acacia smallii Desert Scrub
Arroyos & Canyons
Mesquite, soapberry, palo verde, mountain laurel, Mexican buckeye, mountain mulberry, desert willow, canyon hackberry.
Whitethorn acacia Acacia constricta Catclaw mimosa, Mimosa biuncifera
“Wait a minute” Bush Vauquelinia corymbosa Rosewood Evergreen sumac
Rhus virens Rhus microphylla
Little leaf sumac & berries Fragrant or Skunkbush sumac
Rhus trilobata Flameleaf sumac Rhus lanceolata Mexican buckeye Ungnadia specioisa Texas pistache Pistacia texana Mexican redbud Cercis canadensis var. mexicana Mexican persimmon Diospyros texana Texas Mountain Laurel Mescal Bean Sophora secundiflora Goldenball leadtree, Leucaena retusa Texas mulberry, Morus microphylla Desert willow, Chilopsis linearis Honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa Netleaf hackberry & bark Celtis reticulata Western soapberry Sapindus drummondii Littleleaf walnut Juglans microcarpa
Fruit Leaves Bark Mexican plum Prunus mexicana Southwestern Chokecherry Prunus Serotina var.virens Higher elevation, canyon, mountain trees Oaks, pinyon / juniper and large conifers
Mexican pinyon pine Pinus cembroides Drooping juniper Juniperus flaccida Pinchot juniper, Juniperus pinchotii Alligator juniper Juniperus deppeana Bigtooth maple grandidentatumAcer Texas madrone Arbutus xalapensis var. texana Cluster of buds at terminal end of twigs.
Quercus: gravesii virginiana oblongifolia muehlenburgii White oaks
Scaly bark white or gray in color.
Mexican Blue oak, Lacey oak, Mexican Dwarf oak, Chinkapin oak, Gambel oak, ScrubLive oak, Netleaf oak, Arizona White oak, Sandpaper oak, Vasey Shin oak, Coahuila Scrub oak, Mohr Shin oak, Havard Shin oak, Gray oak, Escarpment Live oak Vasey oak Quercus pungens
var. vaseyana Chinkapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii Gray oak Quercus grisea Black oaks
Sometimes clumped with Red oaks. Dark almost black bark, broken into squares or small plates.
Sliverleaf oak Emory oak Chisos oak Graves oak Lateleaf oak Delcarmen oak Sometimes the bark is in between. The bark is tight, gray or black, broken into small scales, not deeply furrowed. Lower elevation 4400-6000 ft. Emory oak, Quercus emoryi Higher elevation 4500-7500 ft. Sliverleaf oak, Quercus hypoleucoides Graves oak, Quercus gravesii Contact
John M. White Garden Curator Chihuahuan Desert Gardens University of Texas at El Paso 500 W. University Ave. El Paso, TX 79968 http://utep.edu/museum [email protected]
(915) 747-5335