Flora
Flora_Calochortus kennedyi.JPG
The Flora database provides access to resources and information about the flora of the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER). According to the most recent inventory (Medina 2003), the vascular flora of the SRER accounts for 468 species, divided into 283 genera and 80 families. The three largest families are Poaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae, which account for 45 percent of the total flora.
Within the Poaceae family, the most common species are native grasses such as Rothrock grama (Bouteloua rothrockii Vasey), sideoats grama (B. curtipendula (Michx.) Torr.), Arizona cottontop (Digitaria californica (Benth.) Henrard), bush muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri Scribn.), tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus (L.) Beauv.), several threeawn species (Aristida spp. L.), and the nonnative Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees). Most common Asteraceae species are burroweed (Haplopappus tenuisectus (Greene) Blake), snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh.), and desert broom (Baccharis sarothroides). Fabaceae family includes mainly shrubs and trees such as catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii A. Gray), Fairy-Duster (Calliandra eriophylla Benth.), wait-a-minute bush (Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera (Benth.) Barneby), velvet-pod mimosa (Mimosa dysocarpa Benth.), blue paloverde (Cercidium floridum Benth.), and velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina Woot.). Other common plant species on the Santa Rita are prickly pear (Opuntia spp. Mill.), fishhook barrel (Ferocactus wislizenii (Engelm) Britt. & Rose), and cholla (Cylindropuntia spp.) cacti (Cactaceae), soaptree yucca (Yucca elata Engelm.) (Asparagaceae), ocotillo (Fouquieria spp.) (Fouquieriaceae), and desert hackberry (Celtis pallida Torr.) (Cannabaceae).
Medina's inventory, as well as previous data and updates, are available in the sections below. On this website, it is also possible to access the data of other vegetation studies performed on the range. More particularly, the list of plant species identified on the Ongoing Vegetation Transects and Exclosure Transects is available at Plant Species on Transects.
References
Medina, Alvin L. 2003. Historical and Recent Flora of the Santa Rita Experimental Range. In: McClaran, Mitchel P.; Ffolliott, Peter F.; Edminster, Carleton B., tech. coords. Santa Rita Experimental Range: 100 years (1903 to 2003) of accomplishments and contributions; conference proceedings; 2003 October 30–November 1; Tucson, AZ. Proc. RMRS-P-30. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 157-165.
Medina's flora (2003) is the most comprehensive and recent inventory of plant species of the SRER. It was composed by using historical lists and data from more recent studies conducted on the range over the years. The original paper is part of the Proceedings from the Centennial Conference 2003 "Santa Rita Experimental Range: 100 years (1903 to 2003) of accomplishments and contributions" and is available below for download. The first inventory of the flora of the SRER (Medina 1996) is also available on this website as Appendix C of the Annotated Bibliography (1903 - 1988).
Because Species, Genus, and Family names for plants are frequently revised, we suggest referring to the SEINet Data Portal to check nomenclature changes for the species listed in these inventories.
Medina's flora (2003) is currently under revision and the updates will be provided on this page. The new list will include new plant species identified on the SRER while conducting research activities or plant species registered in the AZ specimen database of the Univerisity of Arizona Herbarium. For instance, the next update will include some non-native species that have been recently found in the range, such as Pennisetum ciliare (Buffelgrass), Melinis repens (Natalgrass), Enneapogon cenchroides (Softfeather Pappusgrass), and Fingerhuthia africana (Thimblegrass).
The plant species inventories provided on this website include the complete Flora of the SRER (provided above) and the Plant Species on Transects, which include the list of perennial species identified while conducting the Ongoing Vegetation Transects and Exclosure Transects on the SRER.
In these lists, plant species can be registered with the historical plant name or the currently accepted name when there was a name change. Because Species, Genus, and Family names for plants are frequently revised, we suggest referring to the SEINet Data Portal for further details and updates on nomenclature changes for the species listed in these inventories.
