Mesquite Bosque
Encyclopedia
Association (ecology)
An association is the "ultimate classification level" of ecological systems. Local conditions permit several understory species to coexist with the same overstory dominants, and associations refer to the many co-occurring species rather than just the few dominant ones.Associations have:#A...
within the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, under the Kuchler scheme
A.W. Kuchler
A. W. Kuchler is an American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the USA. Some of this database has become digitized for integration into GIS mapping systems.-References:* *...
of plant association categories.
Geography
The Mesquite Bosque association occurs in the Sonoran DesertSonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
, with mesquite - Prosopis spp.
Prosopis
Prosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion...
dominating. In some cases, this plant association is along xeric portions of desert floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
s, bajada
Bajada
Bajada may refer to:*Bajada a festival common to the Canary islands* Bajada, a compound Alluvial fan* La Bajada, an escarpment of the Caja del Rio, New Mexico, USA* Clint Bajada , Maltese TV and radio personality...
s, and arroyo
Arroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
s.
Mesquite species
- The mesquite species can include:
- Velvet mesquite - Prosopis velutinaProsopis velutinaProsopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium sized perennial tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran...
- Screwbean mesquite - Prosopis pubescensProsopis pubescensProsopis pubescens, commonly known as Screwbean Mesquite or Tornillo, is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico .-Description:This plant grows to about...
- "Tornillo" - Honey mesquite - Prosopis glandulosa
- Velvet mesquite - Prosopis velutina
Mesquite Bosque plant association species
- Catclaw acacia - Acacia greggiiAcacia greggiiAcacia greggii is a species of Acacia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in...
- Fremont cottonwood - Populus fremontiiPopulus fremontiiPopulus fremontii, the Fremont cottonwood or Alamo cottonwood, is a cottonwood poplar native to western North America, in California and east to Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, and south into Sonora in northwestern Mexico...
- Desert mistletoe - Phoradendron californicumPhoradendron californicumPhoradendron californicum, the desert mistletoe or mesquite mistletoe, is a parasitic plant native to southern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Baja California...
- California fan palm - Washingtonia filiferaWashingtonia filiferaWashingtonia filifera , with the common names California Fan Palm , Desert Fan Palm, Cotton palm, and Arizona Fan Palm. It is a palm native to southwestern North America between an elevation range of , at seeps, desert bajadas, and springs where underground water is continuously available...
- the Mesquite Bosque association is one of the Kuchler scheme designation areas where this endangered palm may occur.
See also
- BosqueBosqueBosque is the name for areas of gallery forest found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States...
- Tamaulipan mezquitalTamaulipan mezquitalThe Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, is located in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico...
- List of flora of the Lower Colorado River Valley