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See also: bird guidebooks
Arizona Highways Online
https://www.arizonahighways.com/ publishes events, essays, photos and much more.
The Desert Smells Like Rain, A Naturalist in Papago Indian Country
by Gary Paul Nabhan, North Point Press, San Francisco, CA, USA, 1982. Contemporary classic combining both a poet's and a naturalist's sensibility towards the O'odham desert homelands of Arizona and Sonora. Nabhan went on to win one of the MacArthur Foundation's "genius awards". The title comes from a young boy's answer to his question of what the desert smelled like.
Gathering the Desert
by Gary Paul Nabhan, illustrated by Paul Mirocha. Published by The University of Arizona Press, 1985, ISBN 0-8165-0935-2, Tucson, AZ, USA. Creosote Bush in the winter, Sandfood in the spring, Tepary Beans in the summer, Devil's Claw in the fall are some of the Sonoran Desert plants that used to mark the cycles of the Sonoran Indian's year. Nabhan's enthnobotany research takes him back to the old places to document current practices in this series of essays that move beyond the facts into the soul of the desert. Winner of the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing.
Southern Arizona Folk Arts
by James E. Griffith
published by the University of Arizona Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8165-1001-6
Tucson, AZ, USA
Folk art by Native Americans, Mexican Americans, regional and immigrant art forms.
The Voice of the Desert, A Naturalist's Interpretation
by Joseph Wood Krutch, 1954 is a classic book of the Sonoran desert. Krutch writes about the desert around his home in the Tucson valley. Short essays on the plants, "Strange forest," and the animals, "The mouse that never drinks," during the desert seasons. Many of these animals and plants may be seen at the equally classic Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum just to the west of Tucson.
The Southwest Parks and Monuments Association
publishes two series of small guidebooks with color photographs and short text for each plant, plus a suggested reading list at the end of each book.
70 Common Cactus of the Southwest
by Pierre C. Fisher, photographs by Pierre C. Fisher
1989, ISBN 0-911408-82-7
100 Desert Wildflowers of the Southwest
by Janice Emily Bowers, photographs by Steven P. McLaughlin and Janice Emily Bowers
1989, ISBN 0-911408-72-X
100 Roadside Wildflowers of Southwest Woodlands
by Janice Emily Bowers, photographs by Steven P. McLaughlin and Janice Emily Bowers
1987, ISBN 0-911408-72-8
Guidebooks with line drawings, some color photos, sub-divided into sections by colored pages corresponding to the flower color.
Flowers of the Southwest Deserts
by Natt N. Dodge, drawings by Jeanne R. Janish
1985, ISBN 0-911408-65-7
Common flowering plants of the Chihuahuan, Sonoran and Mohave desert areas of the American and Mexican West.
Flowers of the Southwest Mountains
ISBN 0-911408-61-4
Mountain flowers of Arizona, New Mexico,Colorado and Utah, starting at 7,000 feet in the Transition Life Zone.
Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Deserts
by Janice Emily Bowers, illustrated Brian Wignall
1993, ISBN 1-877856-34-7
Common shrubs and trees of the Mohave, the Sonoran, the Chihuahuan and the Great Basin desert areas of the American and Mexican West.
Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands
ISBN 0-911408-41-X
Shrubs and trees of the drainages of the upper portion of the Rio Grande and Pecos rivers, and by the Colorado River south of Grand Junction, Colorado and its tributaries starting at 4,500 feet.
See also: Wildflowers of the Southwest deserts
Plants for Dry Climates, How to Select, Grow and Enjoy
by Mary Rose Duffield and Warren D. Jones, 1998
Tucson, AZ, USA, 1-800-255-1514, $17.95 USD plus $5.00 USD shipping
Guide for selecting landscaping trees, shrubs and accent plants and flowers for arid environments. Over 300 plant species are pictured in color photographs and listed with their special design features.
also Landscape Plants for Dry Regions.
Desert Landscaping
by George Brookbank
The University of Arizona Press, 1992
Tucson, AZ, USA
Guide to landscaping in the low water and temperature extremes of the desert. Includes a Month-By-Month Maintenance Guide.
Desert Gardening, Fruits and Vegetables, The Complete Guide, Revised
by George Brookbank with photos by the author and Betsy Iventosch, 1991
Tucson, AZ, USA
Guide to food gardening in the extremes of the desert. Includes a week-by-week to-do calendar of the desert growing seasons.
Desert Bird Gardening
Arizona Native Plant Society
Booklet on desert landscaping to attract birds, includes color photos and listings for 45 desert-adapted plant species and 24 common species of found in Southwest gardens.
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