Arizona Native Plant Society - White Mountain Chapter

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Arizona Native Plant Society - White Mountain Chapter

Visit our website at www.AZNPS.com and become a member. Join our mission and Go Native! Want to stay up to date via email?

Our goal is to promote knowledge, appreciation, conservation, and restoration of Arizona native plants and their habitats. https://mailchi.mp/71d6f52b54f8/aznps-white-mountain-chapter

09/04/2026

Our native plant sketch + photo event is coming back this October!

Come sketch native plants together and check out the leaf changes as fall returns! This is a fun and relaxed event where we simply get-together to sketch and photograph native plants.

• WHERE: Woodland Lake (Pinetop-Lakeside)
• WHEN: Friday, October 16th @ 9:00-10:30am

There are two groups at this event:

✍🏻 Sketch Group: (Host: Jess Rollar + Karen Suedmeier)
Jess and Karen (Ren) will share tips for sketching native plants and the landscape on location. Bring your sketchbook and other favorite supplies, we'll have lots of time to explore and sketch on your own as well!

📷 Photo Group: (Host: Bob Rollar)
Bob will be sharing photography tips and tricks on how to capture our beautiful native landscape and plants. Be sure to bring your camera or phone for taking pictures.

This is a free event and very beginner friendly, all levels welcome and mistakes are always encouraged. This is a great way to learn about native plants and get a closer look!

09/03/2026

Calling all artists!
September has begun and we have a new challenge for you:
🌳Draw Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) in your own style.
Think oak leaves, acorns, or any parts of the tree.
🌳Share your art in the comments below!

🎨Sketch, paint, mosaic, embroidery... any visual art style is welcome.

09/02/2026

Think I'm a "lucky clover"?
Well, my leaves look similar -- but my flowers are much different!
Today we're talking about Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis species), a family of plants that play an important role in our ecosystem.

There are hundreds of types of Wood-Sorrel. It can be difficult to identify a specific species in the wild without a full specimen including the underground parts.
But in our area, Wood-Sorrel has 3-12 heart-shaped leaflets. The blooms have five petals, fused together at the base to form a funnel. Flowers can be pink, purple, yellow, or white. The "fruits" are exploding capsules which can shoot and scatter their seeds!

Native Wood-Sorrels can be great for rock gardens and natural areas. They are deer-resistant due to their sharp, sour taste. They prefer to grow along streams and in moist partial shade, including meadows and pine forests. Oxalis can create dense mats of "living mulch" that help stabilize the soil and retain moisture.

Oxalis provides valuable nectar to local bees, beetles, and other pollinators. Seeds are a food source for birds, and pocket gophers and other rodents feed on the bulbs. Healthy gopher/rodent populations are a foundation for the food web that supports hawks, owls, coyotes, and other predators.

Here a few native species of Wood-Sorrel in the White Mountains:
🌱Oxalis alpina
🌱Oxalis caerulea
🌱Oxalis decaphylla
🌱Oxalis stricta

Post and photo credit: Karen Suedmeier

08/26/2026

Today's featured native plant is in the Asparagus family:
Torrey's Crag-Lily (Echeandia flavescens), blooming in Pinetop-Lakeside this week.

Like Mariposa Lily (see last week's post), the plant parts are in groups of three:
🌱Six yellow-orange tepals (petals), each with a green midrib
🌱Six stamens
🌱Narrow, grass-like leaves

Crag-Lily's dainty flowers are borne on an unbranched stalk 1-2 feet tall, and face upward or away from the stem (scape). If you're looking for this flower, be sure to get out early! Blooms open in the morning, but close in the afternoon. Crag-Lily grows in mountain meadows and woodlands from 4,500 - 9,000 feet.

Echeandia flavescens provides nectar and pollen to native bees and butterflies, as well as shelter and food to small mammals, reptiles, insects, and granivorous birds.

Fun fact: Echeandia flavescens is relatively rare in the United States, with the largest native populations found in Arizona. It is also native to New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico/South America.

Post and photo credit: Karen Suedmeier

08/19/2026

Our native plant of the day is Gunnison's Mariposa-Lily, Calochortus gunnisonii. This elegant, uncommon flower is a treat to see in the White Mountains.
**Calochortus gunnisonii is a protected native species in Arizona**

As a member of the Lily family, the flower parts are in sets of three:
🌱Three narrow, pointed sepals
🌱Three large white or purple petals with purple markings near the base
🌱Six reddish anthers
🌱Three-parted pistil in the center
Each petal has a "beard" of numerous yellow hairs, creating a protective membrane over the nectar gland and providing a "landing pad" for pollinators.

Mariposa-Lily is a bulb-forming perennial, with narrow, grasslike leaves. Large blooms (up to 2 inches across) are borne on a stalk 8-20 inches tall.

Calochortus gunnisonii likes sunshine and well-draining soil, flourishing mainly in open pine forests and dry plains. The graceful blooms would be a beautiful addition to pollinator-friendly or restoration-minded areas. It supports the local ecosystem (native bees and other insects, and therefore insect-eating birds) without needing heavy watering.

Post credit: Karen Suedmeier
Photo credit: Dean and Karen Suedmeier

08/14/2026

Are you a member of the Arizona Native Plant Society? Join our mission at www.aznps.com to partner with us!

Your membership and support of AZNPS helps to ensure that our vital education, conservation, and plant sciences work continues to grow and bloom.

Additional benefits include:
🌱Chapter meetings
🌱Field trips
🌱Happenings, an online newsletter
🌱Plant Press, a statewide journal
🌱Workshops
🌱Annual Botany Meeting

Visit https://aznps.com/membership/ to become a member!

08/12/2026

Today's native plant of the day is popping up along our trails, thanks to the recent rains! Pinewoods Spiderwort (Tradescantia pinetorum) is a delicate purple bloom that you might miss if you're not looking.

Leaves are narrow and linear, almost like grass blades, and clasping the stem. Three petals can be various shades of rose, purple, or blue. Stamens are feathery at the base, with bright yellow anthers. Plants can grow up to about 15 inches tall.

Flowering summer to fall, Pinewoods Spiderwort grows in moist canyons, stream banks, open woods, and chaparral from 5,000 - 10,000 ft. Tradescantia is of special value to native bees, as it is an excellent early-morning pollen source. It is also a larval host and food source to various caterpillars and beetles, and provides ground cover to small mammals and reptiles. It would be a lovely perennial plant to add to a moist shaded area or rock garden.

Spiderwort gets its name from the sticky secretion that is present when the stem is cut (but please don't try it). This sap becomes thread-like when it hardens, appearing similar to spider webbing.

Post and photo credit: Karen Suedmeier

08/05/2026

Have you seen this tall beauty along streams, marshes, or wet meadows? Spotted Joe-Pye-Weed likes water and sunshine!

Spotted Joe-Pye-Weed (Eutrochium maculatum) is our native plant of the day, belonging to the sunflower (Asteraceae) family. It gets its name from the stems which are often purple-spotted. Growing up to 5 feet tall or higher, these plants are magnets for pollinators!

The unbranched stem supports branched flower stalks at the top. Long, toothed leaves can be as big as 8 inches long. They grow in a whorl around the stem, usually 4-5 in each whorl. Fluffy pink-purple blooms at the top grow in a flat-headed cluster several inches across, each head containing 8-22 disc flowers but no ray flowers. The fruits are spread by the wind, having hair-like bristles to help them disperse.

Eutrochium maculatum is a larval host and food source to over 30 species of moths! It also attracts bees, beetles, and butterflies, including migrating monarchs. Small birds feed on the seeds during the late season, and deer and rabbits may browse the foliage. If you have a moist garden area, this could be an excellent plant for the back border, with striking foliage and high pollinator value.

Post and photo credit: Karen Suedmeier

08/04/2026

Calling all artists!
It's the beginning of August and we have a challenge for you:

🖍Draw a Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) in your own style, then share in the comments below!

🎨Sketch, paint, mosaic, embroidery... any visual art style is welcome!

07/29/2026

Today we're visiting one of the "stars of the show" from our sketch/photo walk a few weeks ago!

Our Arizona native plant of the day is Golden Tickseed, Coreopsis tinctoria. These showy daisy-like blooms can be spotted in pastures, along roadsides and trails, and in sunny meadows of the White Mountains.

Coreopsis tinctoria is in the Aster family and grows from 1-3 feet high. One of the cool things about being in the Aster family (Asteraceae) is that the blooms are actually made up of many flowers: "ray flowers" are what we think of as the petals, and "disc flowers" are clustered in the center of the bloom.

Yellow petals are notched at the tip of each ray and are usually reddish-brown close to the center. The disc flowers in the middle have a maroon or purple color. Leaves are narrow and linear, opposite and pinnately compound.

Coreopsis is a wonderful plant for our local pollinators. With its long and dependable blooming season, it provides nectar for a wide variety of native bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. The plant is a host for several caterpillars, and the seeds are nutritious food for birds.

Golden Tickseed would be an excellent addition to a sunny garden or meadow area to add color and wildlife value. Even in winter, the seed heads remain intact, providing visual interest and attracting birds that feed on the seeds.

Educational note for botany nerds: there is discussion about just how long Coreopsis tinctoria has lived in the White Mountain area, and whether it warrants true "native" status. There are scholars on both sides of the question. Also note that horticultural Coreopsis can escape from backyards into native areas, so be careful with your identification!

Post: Karen Suedmeier
Photo credit: Dean Suedmeier

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Snowflake, AZ

Website

https://aznps.com/white-mountain/

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