Desert Willows

At the same time most native desert plants are shutting down in preparation for the searing heat of summer, Desert Willows, aka Chilopsis linearis, are emerging from a cool winter season of dormancy. Named for their long, slender willow-like leaves, Desert Willows are one of the only Sonoran desert natives that bloom throughout the summer. They are also one of our only winter deciduous natives, dropping their leaves in late October, and not renewing them until late spring. 

Flamboyant pink flowers burst forth in May, scenting the air with sweet perfume to attract pollinators, mostly large bees and the occasional hummingbird. The ruffled blossoms and luxurious leaves seem extravagant in the arid climate where water conservation is the primary adaptation of desert plants. Desert willows grow naturally along arroyos and streams, insuring that moisture is plentiful. They do especially well in well-watered suburban landscapes.

Known as chimov by the Hualapai people and aan by the Pima tribe, Desert Willow is not a true willow in the botanical sense, but a member of a family of tropical plants called the Bignonias, named after Jean-Paul Bignon, a Frenchman who served in the royal court of King Louis XIV of France. The family of over 650 species includes several domesticated trees, shrubs and vines that have been imported to the Phoenix area from all over the world, including Jacaranda from Brazil, Cat-claw Vine from Mexico, plus Catalpa, Calabash and Trumpet Vine from southeastern North America. Horticulturists in Uzbekistan developed a popular hybrid between catalpa and desert willow known as “Chitalpa.”  The “Rio Salado” variety of desert willow is a cultivar with deep purple and magenta flowers. 

Indigenous people used the leaves for medicinal purposes as an anti-fungal, a good treatment for athlete’s foot and candida. Teas made of leaves, bark and flowers have been used to treat coughs; poultices can help heal cuts and abrasions. The flexible limbs are excellent for making bows and baskets. Although humans have not used Desert Willow for food, birds and insects thrive on the nectar and other wildlife feast on the leaves.

At summers end, long skinny seedpods dangle from the tips of desert willow branches where flowers once were, soon to dry and split open to release hundreds of feathery seeds that are carried by the wind to chance landing in a sunny spot next to a desert stream. 

Mockingbirds

“Teach all the children to venerate it as a superior being

 which will haunt them if any harm is done to itself or its eggs.”  –Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson’s reverence and admiration for mockingbirds was shared by many others during the early 19^th century, when keeping them as caged birds became popular. Pet mockingbirds were so valued for musical entertainment that an especially ardent male was worth up to $50.  Thus, for mama to buy a mockingbird to sing her baby to sleep was once a valuable offer, on par with at least a small diamond ring!  The mockingbird trade on the East Coast was robust enough in the early 1800’s to cause a severe local decline of the species. Fortunately the practice waned, and mockingbirds are now well established throughout North America and the Caribbean Islands.

Named for their impressive vocal repertoire, Mimus polyglottos, or the “many-tongued mimic,” is capable of learning over 200 different songs throughout its lifetime. Songs imitate not only other birds, but may also include sounds of sirens, trains, cats and frogs.  Jefferson, who was a polyglot (he was able to speak five languages fluently) and a musician himself, reputedly had a favorite pet mockingbird named Dick that he doted on.

The mockingbird has had a recent revival in popularity as the female half of the sci-fi icon, the mockingjay. A symbol of hope, justice and rebellion in the Hunger Games trilogy, the mockingjay is a cross between genetically engineered “jabberjays” and wild mockingbirds.  Jabberjays hark back to the subversive 1950’s CIA scheme to influence the national media, known as Operation Mockingbird. At that time, a network of influential journalists was hired to assist with a vigorous anti-communist agenda. When mated with the mockingbird, a symbol of innocence and beauty, the hybrid offspring became allies in communication for the trilogy’s protagonists through their ability to repeat human songs.

But the symbol of the mockingbird in literature is best known from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee, in which Miss Maudie explains to the children: “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but . . . sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”  

Bachelor males are especially well known for their habit of crooning through moonlit nights, and are often fooled by city lights into singing constantly throughout the summer if they are not successful in finding a mate. Once the birds pair up though, things quiet down during nesting season, when the monogamous birds get busy building a nest and later caring for their young. Male birds are devoted dads, taking over care and feeding of the first brood while the female incubates a second.

In the Phoenix Region, you are more likely to hear a mockingbird in the suburbs than in the wild desert. Like many other creatures, mockingbirds are well adapted to human altered environments, which often provide more abundant food and water, especially in desert regions. They are omnivores, feasting on berries and fruit, as well as insects and lizards. Light posts are favorite perches, and sometimes used as nesting sites.

Local mockingbirds will imitate other avians common in the desert suburbs, like the cactus wren, grackles, finches, verdin and quail. Their song might be confused with that of their cousin, the curve-billed thrasher, who can also carry a decent tune, but not nearly as varied. The flash of white outer tail feathers and white wing patches can help to easily identify the otherwise drab gray mockingbird when it flies.

Photos by Richard Halliburton

Agaves

Of all the strange spiky botanical forms thriving in the Sonoran desert, some of the most spectacular and extravagant are the agaves. Flowering stalks of agaves begin to emerge as the weather warms in spring, and depending on the species, may grow to over twenty feet tall!   Their reproductive strategy is known colloquially as "boom and bust" reproduction, because the plant will live for many years as a leafy rosette, and then shoot up a stalk bearing hundreds or thousands of flowers in one season. The plant uses so much energy in the process that it dies after the seeds have ripened. The academic term for this is "monocarpic perennial," which translates to "a plant that lives for many years but only produces seeds once." Although agaves are sometimes called “century plants,” most species only live between 20-30 years.

Several years ago, I measured the daily growth of a few specimens in our neighborhood. My records show that agave flowering stalks will grow anywhere between 3 and 9 inches per day for one species I was tracking, Murphey’s Agave.  Murphey’s is one of several dozen types of agave found growing in the Phoenix area, thanks to a bustling import and cultivation business for use in ornamental landscaping. There are actually no wild agave populations within the metropolitan region, although several species grow naturally at higher elevations in surrounding mountains. However, there are a few small populations of Murphey’s, also known as Hohokam Agave, that appear to be remnants of pre-Columbian agricultural settlements. Agave has been, and continues to be, one of the most important utilitarian and food plants for indigenous cultures throughout the Sonoran desert.

Trade between ancient cultures played a large role in distributing agave to new areas far beyond their natural range. Many populations now known between central Arizona and Grand Canyon appear to be what is left of small plantations that were created to harvest for food, medicine and fiber. Both the piña and stalk of some species were roasted and eaten; the large stone-lined roasting pits remain as some of the most visible archaeological features of some pre-historic settlements.  The pulp and juice were also considered to be excellent tonics and healing medicine. Stalks were used as tools, building material and musical instruments. Fiber from the leaves was used to make sandals, fabric and nets. Be forewarned: the sap of some species is so toxic that it could be used as fish poison or arrow poison for hunting.  As noted by historian William H. Prescott in 1843: “The agave, in short, was meat, drink, clothing, and writing materials for the Aztec. Surely, never did Nature enclose in so compact a form so many of the elements of human comfort and civilization!”

Today, huge agave plantations are an important part of the North American economy. Tequila, mescal, agave syrup, and sisal are some of the major products exported from Mexico all around the world. Harvesting agaves is highly regarded as a technical skill, requiring strength and knowledge to recognize and properly cut the mature plants.  Harvesters, called jimadores, use specially designed cutting tools, called coas, to expertly remove the spine-tipped leaves and extract the piña, or core of the plant. Certain species are raised specifically for the fiber in leaves, which is used to produce everything from rope to place mats. Other species are best for the sweet sap that can either be pressed out and fermented to brew tequila, or reduced to make honey-like syrup. Industrial researchers are currently investigating the use of agave to produce bio-fuels. 

Despite the stunning effort put into seed production, very few of the tens of thousands of seeds made by a single agave actually germinate and grow into mature plants. For many species, most reproduction is from plantlets that emerge either on the stalk, called bulbils, or from the roots of the parent plant, called “pups” or hijos (Spanish for “sons”).  These smaller plants are the form that has been most easily traded for thousands of years, and allows us to now enjoy so many kinds of agaves in the suburbs of Phoenix.  Part of the job of an jimadore on an agave plantation is to extract the parent plant without destroying the hijos. Likewise, if you have the privilege of witnessing the flowering and passing of an agave in your home landscape, be sure to collect the hijos and find a good home for them to carry on their line of noble plants. 

Wild Hive

For over eight years, I’ve been visiting a wild hive of honeybees (Apis mellifera scutellata) that I found nestled in a crack in basalt cliffs just a ten-minute walk from our house. The comb is dark and gnarled, with several lobes hanging in layers between the rocks. Bees are constantly zooming in to deliver pollen and nectar, and zooming back out to collect more. Although we are warned that these bees are most likely “Africanized” and thus more aggressive than other breeds, I have never been chased or stung since I’ve been observing this hive. Then again, I have never tried to steal their honey or poke the hive with a stick.  I am also careful not to stand directly in their pathway. Or, maybe they just recognize me as a friendly neighbor whose garden they come down to forage in every day!

These wild bees are the same ones that are at work daily in our neighborhood, gathering nectar and pollen from our landscaping plants. If you have fruit trees and vegetables in your yard, they may be helping you realize a harvest. One way to find out where your garden bees live, is to follow them as they make a “bee-line” back to their hive once they are loaded up. On their way home they will fly the most direct route, in a relatively straight line, to conserve energy.

Local beekeeper, Scott Clark, enjoys the practice of “bee-lining,” which is the art and sport of tracking bees to their hive. “You can tell how many different hives are in an area by watching bees as they leave the plants they are foraging on,” he says. “Sometimes you’ll see several different bee-lines moving to and from a large rosemary plant, which is one of the most abundant nectar producing flowers during winter months in the Phoenix area.”

According to Scott, honeybees will travel up to five miles to find good sources of nectar and pollen, so finding a hive can be a pretty good work out.  This is also something to keep in mind if you are someone who would like to avoid encounters with bees. Mesquites, palo verdes and rosemary are some favorites for desert honeybees, so if you plant them in your yard, you’re sending an invitation to the local hives for five miles around.

If you are someone who appreciates bees and all the products and services they provide, having them visit your garden can be a great source of entertainment. “Bees have a kind of intelligence beyond other insects,” observes Scott, who became addicted to beekeeping at the age of twelve. “They work together, they communicate with each other, and they even argue with each other about the best place to build a hive!”

A few requirements for a wild hive include great foraging nearby, a reliable source of water, protection from predators, and shelter from wind and weather. All of these things make high vertical crevices in cliffs near irrigated landscapes in the suburbs the “bee’s knees” for a honeybee queen and her brood.  These traits are also why buildings sometimes seem like excellent sites for wild hives.  Unfortunately for the bees, most humans don’t like them living in their houses, so that is not usually a great choice!

For lots more info on honeybees, or resources to remove troublesome swarms and hives check out any of these websites. An experienced beekeeper will always do their best to remove the bees alive and help them find a safe home away from yours!

Beekeeper Scott Clark of Cave Creek www.beesvillebeefarm.com

Beekeepers Association of Central Arizona www.azbaca.org

Swarm removal for every state www.bees-on-the-net.com

Desert Queen

If you look carefully, even in the depths of what we call winter here in Phoenix, you can find several stages of the Queen Butterfly, and maybe all four! The best place to search is on a milkweed plant, which is where eggs are laid, caterpillars munch, and chrysalises are formed.

Queen butterflies usually lay their eggs on milkweeds so that when the caterpillar hatches out, its favorite food is right beneath its feet. Desert milkweed is commonly planted in suburban gardens and commercial landscaping, although it is native to areas further south and west. Twining milkweed grows wild along washes or in irrigated areas where it climbs trees, shrubs and fences. Finding butterfly eggs on a milkweed takes a lot of patience, but if you look carefully under the leaves or on the stems, you may find what looks like tiny round pale green or white beads. This is where the magic of metamorphosis begins.

When the eggs hatch, the caterpillar gets to work doing what it does best: eating. Like the Queen’s better-known look-alike, the Monarch butterfly, milkweed sap that is eaten by the caterpillars renders both the larval and adult butterfly poisonous to any bird or other critter that might try to eat them. Potential predators quickly learn to avoid eating black-and-white striped larvae with yellow spots or the equally toxic orange and black butterflies.

Both Monarchs and Queens have orange wings with black edges and white spots, but the Monarch has darker black and brighter orange, and is a bit larger. Queens are more of a rusty orange and much more common in the Phoenix area. Queens also stay in the area year round, unlike Monarchs, which are famous for annual migrations to and from warmer winter climates where they form huge colonies resting in trees. You can easily tell a male from a female in both species by the small black patches on the inside edge of the males’ wings that release a scent to attract females. (This makes me wonder: Should a male Queen be called a “King” butterfly?)

Of all the butterfly stages, the jewel like chrysalis is the most magical to me. The smooth porcelain white shell is gilded with gold spots, and hangs by a thin stalk from the milkweed plant where the caterpillar came to rest. My son and I found a chrysalis gleaming in the sun on our morning walk to school one day last spring. Looking more closely, we found a caterpillar quietly resting, and then a butterfly landed to sip nectar from the milkweed flowers. We didn't find any eggs, but seeing the other three stages all on one plant intrigued Orion so much that he sat down on the sidewalk and watched for a long time. After a while, he got up and exclaimed, "Nature sure is amazing! Wait till I tell the kids at school about this!"

You can invite Queens and other butterflies into your home garden. The key is to grow wildflowers and shrubs that are the host plant, or species that the butterflies will lay their eggs on and caterpillars need to eat. This also means that when you see a caterpillar chowing down on your plants, you need to let it be so that it will mature and transform into a chrysalis. For Queens and Monarchs, you’ll definitely need milkweeds, which are available at many local nurseries.

If you find a caterpillar, and want to watch it grow and turn into a butterfly, be sure to gather and feed it leaves and stems of the plant you found it on. When the butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, be sure to give it plenty of time and room to spread its wings, then let it go free!

To learn more about our local butterflies, butterfly gardening and information about butterfly hikes with experts, check out the Central Arizona Butterfly Association (CAZBA) website at www.cazba.org.

Ringtails: Arizona's State Mammal

Nimble and clever, with a striped tail the length of its body, the ringtail was declared Arizona’s state mammal in 1986, heralded along with the cactus wren (the state bird), giant saguaro (the state flower) and ridge-nosed rattlesnake (the state reptile) as a distinctive member of our natural landscape. Because they are nocturnal, few people ever see these creatures in the wild, although you may hear them rummaging around for food or catch their eyeshine in a flashlight if you happen to be camping out in ringtail territory.

A long, lithe body and banded tail must be very useful traits, since several other species with these features have evolved in other parts of the world. The ringtail is sometimes confused with the band-tailed lemur, a native to the island of Madagascar off the southeastern coast of Africa. Lemurs are primates and thus more closely related to humans than to ringtails. Another look-alike is the civet, a southeast Asian animal popularly known for its musk, which has been used in formulas for expensive perfumes, including Chanel No. 5.


Although not closely related to either lemurs or civets, ringtails are close cousins to two other critters with black-and-white tails that live in Arizona, raccoons and coatimundis. How to tell the difference? Raccoons and coatis are both much larger than a ringtail; a large raccoon or coati can be up to 15 pounds, whereas an adult ringtail is rarely more than 3 pounds. Coatis have a long pointed snout, and usually travel in small groups during the day; both raccoons and ringtails are nocturnal and mostly solitary. Raccoons have a black mask, whereas ringtails have big, dark eyes rimmed with white eyebrows. Ringtails are slender, like a ferret or weasel, and about one and a half feet long; half of that length is their magnificent bushy tail. Fortunately for them, their fur is not luxurious enough to be highly valued, nor are they considered pests, so ringtails are rarely trapped or hunted intentionally.

Their Latin name, Bassariscus astutus, means “clever little fox.” Sometimes they are called miner’s cats, harkening back to the days when miners kept them as pets to keep camps pest free, since ringtails feed on mice, insects and lizards. Ringtails are neither fox nor cat, which adds to the confusion about these seldom seen animals. They are common throughout the desert southwest of the United States and Mexico, as well as agricultural areas and scrub forests of higher elevations. They have adapted well to urban life also: the resident ringtail at Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center in north Phoenix, named Ringo, was captured in the attic of a nearby shopping center, where he slept during the day, and scavenged for food in the store during the night!

You can learn more about ringtails and other native wildlife at the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center. For information about volunteer opportunities, events, education and wildlife sponsorship, visit their website: www.azwildlifecenter.net