Checklist of Vascular Plants of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, and Tinajas Altas, Arizona
CHECKLIST OF VASCULAR PLANTS OF ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT, CABEZA PRIETA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, AND TINAJAS ALTAS, ARIZONA Richard Stephen Felger1,2, Susan Rutman3, Thomas R. Van Devender1,2, and 4,5 Steven M. Buckley 1Herbarium, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210036, Tucson, AZ 85721 2Sky Island Alliance, P.O. Box 41165, Tucson, AZ 85717 3Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument,10 Organ Pipe Drive, Ajo, AZ 85321 4National Park Service, Sonoran Desert Network, 7660 E. Broadway Blvd., Ste. 303, Tucson, AZ 85710 5School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 ABSTRACT The contiguous Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, and the Tinajas Altas region within the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona have a vascular plant flora of 736 taxa (species, subspecies, varieties, and hybrids) in 420 genera and 94 families. Elevation and ecological diversity decrease from east (Organ Pipe) to west (Tinajas Altas) while aridity increases from east to west, all correlating with decreasing botanical diversity. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which includes an ecologically isolated Sky Island of dwarfed woodland rising above actual desert, has a flora of 657 taxa in 395 genera and 93 families, of which 11 percent (72 species) are not native. Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge has a documented flora of 426 taxa in 266 genera and 63 families, of which 8.8 percent (37 species) are not native. The Tinajas Altas region has a flora of 227 taxa in 164 genera and 47 families, of which 5.3 pecent (12 species) are not native.
[Show full text]