Seed Orchard, Discovery Park
Desert Seed Resource Center's Seed Orchard in Safford, AZ.
What's Growing
Parry’s penstemon, Parry’s beardtongue
Parry’s penstemon, Parry’s beardtongue
Parry’s penstemon, Parry’s beardtongue
Penstemon parryii – Scrophulariaceae
This gorgeous plant is native to central Arizona and Sonora. It has spikes of bright pink tubular flowers that bloom between March and May, along with pale green leaves. It is typically found in the wild on hillsides, outwash slopes, and along canyons between 1,500-5,000 ft (457-1524 m) in elevation. Th
Penstemon parryii – Scrophulariaceae
This gorgeous plant is native to central Arizona and Sonora. It has spikes of bright pink tubular flowers that bloom between March and May, along with pale green leaves. It is typically found in the wild on hillsides, outwash slopes, and along canyons between 1,500-5,000 ft (457-1524 m) in elevation. They are typically 2 to 4 feet tall but can get as tall as 5 feet. They want full to part sun with dry, well-draining soil and will bring many types of bees and hummingbirds to the playground. This plant will die back in the winter and reemerge in the spring, so don’t panic when it goes dormant. It’s (probably) not dead!
cane bluestem, blueberry grass
Parry’s penstemon, Parry’s beardtongue
Parry’s penstemon, Parry’s beardtongue
Bothriochloa barbinodis – Poaceae
This good-smelling grass is found throughout much of the southern half of the US and extends south through Mexico and Central America, all the way to Argentina. It has feathery flower clusters that are found in open range lands, on dry, rocky or sandy slopes and plains, and graded roadsides from 1,000-6,00
Bothriochloa barbinodis – Poaceae
This good-smelling grass is found throughout much of the southern half of the US and extends south through Mexico and Central America, all the way to Argentina. It has feathery flower clusters that are found in open range lands, on dry, rocky or sandy slopes and plains, and graded roadsides from 1,000-6,000 ft (305-1829 m) in elevation. Those feathery spikes of flowers typically respond to the monsoon moisture, flowering from August to September, but in an irrigated field it will bloom from late spring to fall. They are typically 2 to 4 feet tall. According to Calscape “In its native range, this grass is useful as a forage for grazing animals and a groundcover for revegetating cleared land. It is very drought-resistant. It is considered an indicator of rangeland damage, as it is often one of the first native species to be eliminated when an area is overgrazed.”
gregg's mistflower, boneset
Parry’s penstemon, Parry’s beardtongue
gregg's mistflower, boneset
Conoclinium dissectum – Asteraceae
Mistflower is a rhizomatous herb, often forming knotty crowns and sometimes basally woody. It rides fairly low to the ground but can get up to about a foot tall (40cm). It is found in sand, loam, clay, or limestone soils, with some moisture in areas such as seasonally flooded stream beds, plains, and over
Conoclinium dissectum – Asteraceae
Mistflower is a rhizomatous herb, often forming knotty crowns and sometimes basally woody. It rides fairly low to the ground but can get up to about a foot tall (40cm). It is found in sand, loam, clay, or limestone soils, with some moisture in areas such as seasonally flooded stream beds, plains, and overflow areas. It can be found in southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and Texas and also from central to northern Mexico from about 1300-4600 ft (400-1400 m) in elevation. The light purple flower clusters give off the faint scent of apples attract many insects, including Queen (Danaus gilippus) and Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterflies and flowers in late spring to early summer and again in fall. It is the larval host to the Rawson’s metalmark butterfly (Calephelis rawsoni).
Arizona milkweed
Parry’s penstemon, Parry’s beardtongue
gregg's mistflower, boneset
Asclepias angustifolia – Apocynaceae
Arizona milkweed has white flower clusters that typically bloom from May through August but can bloom at other times of the year. It is a known host of Monarch butterfly larvae (Danaus plexippus), but it attracts many other pollinators and grows to be about 1 to 2 feet tall (20-70 cm). There are about 3
Asclepias angustifolia – Apocynaceae
Arizona milkweed has white flower clusters that typically bloom from May through August but can bloom at other times of the year. It is a known host of Monarch butterfly larvae (Danaus plexippus), but it attracts many other pollinators and grows to be about 1 to 2 feet tall (20-70 cm). There are about 30 species of milkweed that occur in Arizona and this one occurs from Southern Arizona to Southern Texas, south through Sonora, Chihuahua, and mountainous regions of Mexico to Chiapas. They are most likely to be found in the wild in riparian woodlands, floodplain meadows, cienega edges, canyons and arroyo bottoms from 3,500-7,000 ft (1067-2286 m) in elevation.