Name:
Carnegiea gigantea - Parkinsonia microphylla - Ambrosia deltoidea Mixed Cacti Desert Scrub Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group occurs on hillsides, mesas and upper bajadas in southern Arizona and extreme southeastern California. The vegetation is characterized by a diagnostic sparse, emergent tree layer of <i>Carnegiea gigantea</i> (3-16 m tall) and/or a sparse to moderately dense canopy codominated by xeromorphic, summer deciduous tall shrub <i>Parkinsonia microphylla</i> and evergreen <i>Larrea tridentata</i>, with <i>Prosopis</i> sp., <i>Olneya tesota</i>, and <i>Fouquieria splendens</i> less prominent. Other common shrubs and dwarf-shrubs include <i>Acacia greggii, Ambrosia deltoidea, Ambrosia dumosa</i> (in drier sites), <i>Calliandra eriophylla, Jatropha cardiophylla, Krameria erecta, Lycium</i> spp., <i>Menodora scabra, Simmondsia chinensis</i>, and many cacti, including <i>Ferocactus</i> spp., <i>Echinocereus</i> spp., and <i>Opuntia</i> spp. (both cholla and prickly-pear). The sparse herbaceous layer is composed of perennial grasses and forbs with annuals seasonally present and occasionally abundant. On slopes, plants are often distributed in patches around rock outcrops where suitable habitat is present. Outliers of this succulent-dominated group occur as "Cholla Gardens" in the southern and eastern Mojave Desert in California. In this area, the group is characterized by <i>Cylindropuntia bigelovii, Fouquieria splendens</i>, and other succulents, but it lacks <i>Carnegiea gigantea</i> and <i>Parkinsonia microphylla</i>, which are typical farther east.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40053-{6E561B6E-FFCB-454A-B434-11C7FCD50A2C}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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