Mountain Trees of Southern Arizona: A Field Guide

A unique guide to Southern Arizona's amazing native trees, this book features common and notable trees growing at 4,500 feet or more in the Sky Islands of southern Arizona. Unlike field guides of the past, it uses the same approach as Frank Rose's heralded Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona, providing not only a large image of each tree, but several smaller images of their components--such as bark, fruit, flowers or cones in various stages of development, as well as occasional photos of animals that find resources in those trees. Coupled with the text, these images make it easy for beginners and aficionados alike to distinguish between the species--even the often confounding pines and firs. In addition to striking photos and an elegant, easy-on-the-eye design, this guide provides brief entries describing such features as overall shape, height, elevation range, preferred habitat, bark, leaf, flower, and fruit. A short narrative paragraph expands on these vital statistics and descriptions, often providing anecdotal information about how the tree is or has been used by people or animals, especially butterflies. With spiral-binding and laminated covers, the book is easy to use in the field. But its array of photos, straightforward language, and concise information will satisfy the amateur naturalist in all of us, even if it never leaves the coffee table.