Vegetation consists mostly of highly drought tolerant shrubs with few succulent cacti. Drought deciduous trees and shrubs become increasingly common towards the south, many of which are quite thorny. Succulent cacti are abundant and diverse. The Sonoran Desert rather gradually merges into the more southerly Tropical Dry Thorn Forest of Southern Sonora and Sinaloa. Cool moist weather comes in winter, the summers are not quite as hot due to the cooling effect of the Pacific Ocean, and occasionally summer brings good amounts of rainfall.
Succulents including cacti, agaves and yuccas are abundant and extraordinarily diverse.
The characteristic Boojum Tree plays as a succulent and a drought deciduous tree at the same time. Here I describe the many goings on that often go unnoticed in any urban landscape. Focus is especially on the plants and the insects that live on them, but also birds and reptiles. There are fascinating stories about aphids, bees, ants, cicadas, whiteflies, katydids, and butterflies. Find advice on how to make your yard wildlife friendly.