Flowering cacti are native to the Southwest region.
The majority of native Southwest plants have developed methods for conserving or
storing water, but all the plants still need water. In the United States Southwest region -- which includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah--native plants have adapted special features to live in often-arid conditions. The Sonoran Desert, for example, an arid region that covers 120,000 square miles in the Southwest, holds a wealth of plant life while its conditions range from extreme high temperatures and drought to hard frosts. Does this Spark an idea?
Chain Fruit Cholla
A chain fruit cholla is a bizarre-looking native plant in the Southwest.
The chain fruit cholla looks like a blend between a tree and a cactus. Commonly growing in sandy soils and the plains of the Sonoran and Chihuahua deserts, it is native to south Arizona and northwest Mexico. The cholla's central trunk grows branches that droop low to the ground. Each branch is coated with sharp thorns, or spines, like a cactus. When the cholla ages, the spines fall off and rough bark grows in its place. The tree is named for the clusters it droops from its branches, which look like spiky sausage links or hanging long fruits. It is the largest of all cholla species, growing to 15 feet in hot, arid conditions.
Yucca
Also known as the Joshua Tree, the yucca grows in the Southwest.
The genus called yucca, a group of flowering plants, includes about 40 species, most of which live, and are native to, the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Similar in appearance to short palm trees, the yucca produces tall, white flowers in a long spear shape. Varieties, or cultivars of the species, include the Mojave yucca, native to coastal and desert areas of San Diego County and Yucca elata, native to Arizona, the dried leaves of which are used in Native American basketry. A specific moth, the yucca moth, is the only insect that can pollinate the tree -- it is genetically set for inserting a little pollen ball into the cup-shaped stigma of each yucca flower. Yucca plants will not germinate without the yucca moth; gardeners must hand-pollinate the plant instead.
Butterfly Milkweed
Butterfly milkweed, a shrub native to the Southwest, is often known for its medicinal properties. The milkweed was used by Native Americans living in the Southwest region for treating throat and lung ailments and to soothe or prevent infection in cuts and sores. A member of the Asclepiadaceae, or milkweed family, the butterfly milkweed grows naturally from New England to Utah and south to Arizona, Texas and Mississippi. The flowers on the plants are bright orange-red with five equal parts with hoods, cap-like tops and petals underneath. Milkweeds produce pods loaded with papery brown seeds with long white silky hairs but, unlike most other milkweed plants, do not produce a milky sap. Butterflies in the Southwest flock to the plant, which harbors nectar.
Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa pines flourish in the Southwest.
The ponderosa pine is fast-growing, making for good wind breaks. It is a lush green, has a pleasant odor and attracts birds for nesting and roosting. The tree is native to the Southwest region, according to the University of Arizona Department of Agriculture. Part of the pine family, the ponderosa is a large tree that lives 300 to 600 years, zooming to heights of 100 to 164 feet.
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