Bean Trees provide a reliable protein and super-nutrition source in the form of edible seeds and pods. The three main bean trees of the Sonoran Desert are:

Mesquite (edible pods)

Desert Ironwood (edible seeds)

Palo Verde (edible seeds)                           

Cactus thrive in southwest deserts due to drought and heat-tolerant strategies. These special plants also provide abundant foods with multiple health benefits

Food-producing cactus include:

Barrel,  Cholla,  Prickly pear, 

Pincushion,  Saguaro

Berries like desert hackberry,  wolfberry, and graythorn ripen after seasonal rains and provide juicy, nutritious food for animals as well as humans. Seeds from desert chia and desert plantain mature after Spring blooming.

Greens and herbs like verdolagas, amaranth, desert chickweed, desert lavender, aloysia, cinchweed, chapparal, and devil's claw depend on seasonal rains to trigger growth and production of leaves, flowers, and seeds.                 

Sky Islands plants grow well above low desert valley floors, at elevations between ~3,000- 9,000' through various biomes such as grassland, pine-oak, and mixed conifer forests. Sky Island foods  include: acorns, mushrooms, elderberries, manzanita and juniper berries, pine nuts, greens, herbs.

Eat Mesquite and More: A Cookbook for Sonoran Desert Foods & Living  is arranged by season, with 17 different desert foods and 189 recipes. More than a cookbook, it includes Meet the Ingredient, Plant Basics, and Stories to help folks learn about and fall in love with desert foods and the lands where they grow

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