1. Trees Found in Our Desert

2. Creosote

3. Velvet or Honey Mesquite??
Velvet Mesquite
Bark dark brown to gray.
Spines whitish-gray and straight.
Fruit in pods that start out green and turn yellowish-brown.
Difficult to differentiate from Honey Mesquite
Velvet Mesquite tends to have 4 versus 2 primary leaflets and tends to have duller green leaves compared to Honey Mesquite

4. Velvet Mesquite

5. Honey Mesquite
characterized by 8-inch, bean-like pods and 3-inc spines occurring at large nodes on branches
 smooth, brown bark that roughens with age
narrow, bipinnately compound leaves 2 to 3 inches long are sharply pointed
leaves yellowish green in color with oblong leaflets 1/8" wide and 1 1/4" long
fruit is a flat, narrow, yellow-green pod up to 8 inches long and ending in a point
blooms in May displaying 1/4-inch long fragrant, creamy yellow flowers in narrow 3-inch clusters

6. Honey Mesquite  

7. Catclaw Acacia Bark gray to brown and scaly.
Spines brown to gray, curved and appear singly along branches.
Leaves are bipinnately compound
Fruit is like a flattened string bean

8. Whitethorn Acacia
Bark reddish-maroon (making it fairly easy to pick out even at a distance) to gray.
Leaves are bipinnately compound.
Spines long, straight, and white (on new growth) or absent (on old branches).
Fruit is a reddish-brown pod.

9. Desert Ironwood Tree up to 35' high.
Bark is gray to dark gray and becomes fissured with age (wood inside is beautiful chocolate brown). 
 Spines brown-tipped and slightly curved.
Leaves are simple pinnately compound and are a bluish-green that makes them appear darker than most other trees.
Fruit are a brown, hairy pod.

10. Foothills Paloverde Blue Palo Verde
Large shrub or small tree to 15-40' high.
Bark yellowish-green and smooth.
Spines are absent but branches terminate in sharp point.
Leaves are bipinnately compound, with four or more secondary leaflets per primary leaflet (versus three or fewer in Blue Paloverde).
Fruit is a flat pod starting green and turning yellow.
 Tree to 30-40' high.
Bark bluish-green and smooth.
Spines are small (0.25"), green, and straight.
Leaves are bipinnately compound, with three or fewer secondary leaflets per primary leaflet (versus four or more in Foothills Paloverde).
Fruit is a flat pod starting green and turning yellow.
Blue Paloverdes need more water thus tend to be more restricted to washes and roadsides

11. Palo Verdes  
Blue Palo Verde
Foothills Palo Verde

12. Plants Found in Our Desert

13. Triangleleaf Bursage

14. Desert Hackberry Shrub to 20' Evergreen, spiny
Flowers whitish to 1/16" wide followed by yellowish-orange berry in the fall.
Leaves simple, smooth-edged (sometimes toothed), oval to elliptical to 1.5" long

15. Desert Senna (Cove's Cassia)

16. Desert Unicorn Plant (Golden Devil's Claw)

17. Desert Tobacco

18. Jimson Weed

19. Cacti Found in Our Desert

20. Many Stages of Saguaro

21. Barrel Cacti Varying Flower Colors

22. Cholla

23. Pincushion Cactus

24. Christmas Cactus