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Distinctive Plant Families of the Southwest

Distinctive Plant Families of the Southwest. Cactaceae, Agavaceae, and Fabaceae. Cactus The rest are not cacti. CACTACEAE: Cactus Family. Which is/are not a cactus? How do you know? Clue 1: All cacti are succulent but not all succulents are cacti Clue 2: Not everything spiny is a cactus.

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Distinctive Plant Families of the Southwest

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  1. Distinctive Plant Families of the Southwest Cactaceae, Agavaceae, and Fabaceae

  2. Cactus The rest are not cacti CACTACEAE: Cactus Family • Which is/are not a cactus? How do you know? • Clue 1: All cacti are succulent but not all succulents are cacti • Clue 2: Not everything spiny is a cactus

  3. Many petals and sepals that blend Many anthers – usually hundreds Several to many stigma lobes CACTACEAE: Cactus Family • Unique Characteristics • Flower

  4. CACTACEAE: Cactus Family • Unique Characteristics • Areoles:modified branch containing buds, hairs, and spines

  5. AGAVACEAE: Agave Family • Most are evergreen leaf succulents with spine-tipped leaves arranged in a rosette

  6. AGAVACEAE: Agave Family • Agave: • Most flower only once in lifetime (usually after 10-30 yrs) • Mostly pollinated by bats (provide complete diet). Shin dagger (Agave schottii)

  7. AGAVACEAE: Agave Family • Yucca: • Flower annually • Mostly pollinated by yucca moth Soaptree Yucca (Yucca elata)

  8. AGAVACEAE: Agave Family • Yucca: • Mostly pollinated by yucca moth http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0902a.htm

  9. FABACEAE: Legume Family • Add nitrogen to soil (mutualistic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria) • Act as nurse plants (providing shelter from freezing temperatures, intense sunlight, trampling, etc. to other plants.

  10. FABACEAE: Legume Family • Includes most of our trees in the Sonoran Desert: Acacias, Mesquites, Paloverdes, and Ironwood.

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