But first, here is proof that I hiked the Grand Canyon:
OK, now that that's been established, here's a few plants and trees from the Sonoran Desert, how they grow, whether you can eat them, and how useful they are to people:
Ocotillo — A wiry, brambly tree that looks like it's made of sticks, the ocotillo apparently flowers beautifully during the rainy season... but I wasn't there for that. If you pull up an ocotillo branch and replant it, it will grow there. Some people plant ocotillo "fences" this way, for decorative purposes or to enclose livestock.
Saguaro — Arizona's most emblematic plant by far, the saguaro is a tree-sized cactus that takes 75 years to grow its first "arm." The plant gives food and shelter to birds, insects and bats, which live in small hollows and drink nectar from the cactus' flowers. In July, the flowers ripen into large red fruit that are supposed to taste like strawberries. It is against state law in Arizona to damage, destroy or relocate a saguaro without a permit. They can cost around $80 per foot of height if you want to purchase one.
"Jumping" cholla — This fearsome plant, also called the teddy bear cholla ("CHOY-uh"), takes its name from the ease with which it can hook itself onto passers by. Even the slightest contact with any part of the plant will cause a stem to detach and potentially plant itself on you. Every part of this plant bristles with spines — that are themselves coated in backward-facing, microscopic spines, making them more difficult to remove. Locals told me cholla spines can pierce leather and flatten bicycle tires.
Barrel cactus — If you are in an emergency, the short, stumpy barrel cactus can help you in two ways. First, the cactus always tilts toward the south as it grows, making it a sort of compass. Second, the yellow, pineapple-shaped fruits are edible. They are somewhat dry and bitter, but they are spineless and easy to pluck.
Prickly Pear — Prickly pears are difficult to tell apart, even if you know cacti. They crossbreed and hybridize readily, so sometimes lines between species blur. Almost every type has two kinds of spines — the long, more visible thorns, and the almost invisible, hairlike spines called "glochids." The fruit of prickly pears, called tunas, are edible once the spines are removed. The meat of the cactus itself can usually be eaten — once again, after the spines have been removed. Spines can be cut off, rubbed off on a hard or rough surface, or burned off in a campfire.
Spanish Dagger — This creepy-looking plant grows in clusters of 3-5 heads that slowly grow upward on stalks of old, dead leaves. The leaves can be used as cordage fibers or kindling in a survival situation. An old legend holds that these yuccas would walk around the desert at night in search of water, hence the nickname "walking yucca."
Honey mesquite — The famous mesquite tree is known to anyone with even a passing interest in barbecue, but they are common in the desert because of their ability to grow extremely deep roots that search for water well below the desert heat. Mesquites are nitrogen fixing plants, are nectar sources for bees, and the legumes and their pods are edible — though only the honey mesquite pods taste any good. When the mesquite is a sapling, the tree grows long, tough spines that disappear as the tree grows taller.
Pinyon pine — The distinct smell of burning pinyon wood has become well known since chimineas and backyard fire pits became popular. The pinyon also produces edible and nutritious pine nuts that were historically an important food for American Indians, as well as the birds who disperse the trees by eating the nuts.
The century plant — This amazing agave, also called a maguey, sends up a tall, spear-like stalk of flowers from its bunching, yucca-like leaves. I spotted a few of them in the Grand Canyon, which contains its own species of century plant named for the canyon that only occurs there. The plant does not actually take 100 years to grow. They live about 25 years. From this drink, pre-Columbian natives fermented the alcoholic beverage known as pulque — a predecessor of tequila still made today.
