Resources on Identification, Uses, and Sources of Sonoran Desert Native Plants
Ethnobotany is the study of peoples’ current and traditional knowledge, customs, and use of plants for food, medicine, crafts, religion, etc. Here are some ethnobotanical resources of plants native to the Sonoran desert:
Books on Plant Identification
• Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Deserts by Janice Emily Bowers
• Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands by Francis H. Elmore
• Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification, 6th Edition, by Thomas Elpel
• Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes by Judy Mielke
• Plants of Arizona by Anne Epple and John Weins
On-line resources for plant identification
• SWbiodiversity.org
• FireFlyForest.com/flowers
• SouthwestDesertFlora.com
Books on Native Plant Edibles
• Eat Mesquite and More: A Cookbook for Sonoran Desert Foods and Living by Desert Harvesters. 2018.
• Eat Mesquite: A Cookbook! by Desert Harvesters. 2011.
• From I’Itoi’s Garden: Tohono O’odham Food Traditions by Tohono O’odham Community Action with Mary Paganelli Votto and Frances Manuel
• Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert by Wendy C. Hodgson
• At the Desert’s Green Edge: An Ethnobotany of the Gila River Pima by Amadeo M. Rea
• The Desert Smells Like Rain by Gary Paul Nabhan
• Native Foodways magazine. Tohono O’odham Community Action (TOCA)
• People of the Desert and Sea: Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians by Richard Stephen Felger and Mary Beck Moser
• Southwest Foraging: 117 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Barrel Cactus to Wild Oregano by John Slattery
• Wild Recipes: Seasonal Samplings by Barbara Rose and Jill Lorenzini
• Cooking the Wild Southwest: Delicious Recipes for Desert Plants by Carolyn Niethammer.
Books on Native Plant Medicinals
• Medicinal Plants of the American Southwest by Charles W. Kane
• Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West by Michael Moore
• Southwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 112 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness by John Slattery
Native plant edibles & medicinals workshops and demonstrations
• Desert Harvesters demonstrations at the Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market and other events/workshops. See DesertHarvesters.org
• Wintercount primitive skills gathering
On-line resources for ethnobotanical uses of plants
Native American Ethnobotanical Data Base
You can search plants by their Latin name, and sometimes by their common name for some of their ethnobotanical uses. A very incomplete database, lacking many plants, but a convenient start when beginning to research a plant.
Books on the Natural History of the Sonoran Desert
• A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert, 2nd Edition, edited by S. J. Phillips, P. W. Comus, M. A. Dimmitt, and L. M. Brewer.
• Southern Arizona Nature Almanac by Roseanne Beggy Hanson and Jonathan Hanson.
• Requiem for the Santa Cruz: An Environmental History of an Arizona River by Robert H. Webb, Julio L. Betancourt, R. Roy Johnson, and Raymond M. Turner. University of Arizona Press, 2014.
• Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey radio show and podcast on KXCI.org
Planning for Sonoran Desert Conservation
• Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan
Landscaping & Gardening for Sonoran Desert Conservation
• Tucson Audubon’s Habitat at Home Program
• The Baja Arizona Home Wildlife League
Solar Cooking
• The Sunny Side of Cooking: Solar Cooking and Other Ecologically Friendly Cooking Methods for the 21st Century by Lisa Rayner.
Water Harvesting
• Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life and Landscape, Volume 1, 3rd Edition, by Brad Lancaster.
• Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond: Water- Harvesting Earthworks, Volume 2, 2nd Edition, by Brad Lancaster.
Workshops and How-to
• AZnps.org
• BeanTreeFarm.com
• CommunityFoodBank.org
• DesertHarvesters.org
• HarvestingRainwater.com
• JohnSlattery.com
• LorenziniWorks.com
• SanXavierFarmCoop.org
• SonoranPermaculture.org
• TOCA – Tohono O’odham Community Action
• TucsonAudubon.org
• TucsonCactus.org
• WintercountCamp.com
Suppliers of Sonoran Desert wild food ingredients and products
• ArizonaCactusRanch.com
• BeanTreeFarm.com
• FoodConspiracy.coop
• NativeSeeds.org
• SanXavierCoop.org
• TOCA – Tohono O’odham Community Action
Suppliers of Sonoran Desert Wild Food Plants and Seed
• BachsCactus.com – has seed-grown saguaros
• DesertSurvivors.org
• NativeSeeds.org
• NighthawkNativesNursery.com
• SanXavierCoop.org
• SpadefootNursery.com
• TohonoChul.org
• Wildlands Restoration
Mulch and Compost
•TanksGreenStuff.com