Mister Mesquitey tip toes out of work and gets in some botanizing on a micro-vacation in the Dragoon Mountains.
Mexican Passionflower is almost always found climbing in trees or shrubs near a stream or some source of water. The earth below large boulders and rock faces in the Dragoon Mountain retains water. It’s hidden water and a local plant like Mexican passionflower benefits. All three species of Passiflora found in Arizona are the larval food for Gulf Fritillary Butterflies, so they are great vines to have in a pollinator garden. Please don’t forget what “larval food” means. Caterpillars eat the plant! Be generous, the plant will recover and you will have butterflies all around your habitat. Pretty cool.
I do love wandering around little towns and Willcox is fun. And by the way, it was my friend and Willcox resident Steve Marlatt...
The genus Asclepias is in the Milkweed family Aclepiadaceae and there are about 30 species of Asclepias found in Arizona from low deserts to...
Velvet mesquite is the predominate native mesquite of southern Arizona. If you go west toward California, you will start running into western honey mesquite...
