Arizona Flora, Fauna, and Cattle Ranching

More Esperanza’s World

Geography
Cicadas
Cooking
Marbles
Transportation
Flora and Fauna
Peafowl
Early Tucson
Military Forts
Native Americans

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ESPERANZA'S WORLD ARIZONA FLORA, FAUNA, AND CATTLE RANCHING

Introduction

The author of Esperanza Means Hope paints a vivid picture of Arizona’s landscape mentioning both plants and animals throughout the story. Read one of the author’s picturesque descriptions from Part II, On the Ranch, page 96. (See below.)

Rancho Escondido meant Hidden Ranch in English. It was located at the foot of the Rincon Mountains, surrounded by hills studded with boulders and tall saguaro cactuses. On the north side of the house, down a steep slope, a line of green cottonwoods showed where the wash ran. Their bright green leaves rattled and fluttered in the faint breeze, sounding like rain. The cottonwoods revealed why the ranch was built in that spot: water. Cottonwoods were thirsty trees. They sank their roots into the wash, creating pools that attracted wildlife, including deer, javelinas, and bobcats. Growing in the pools were tall reeds that hid ducks and fish. This lush oasis had been Esperanza’s favorite place to play when she was younger. Esperanza looked toward the stark mountains. It was so quiet at the ranch. The only sounds were rustling cottonwood leaves, softly cooing doves and a distant cow bawling for her calf.

Flora and Fauna Glossary

Research the flora and fauna of Arizona and make a pictorial glossary of Arizona’s plants and animals. A glossary includes a brief description of each plant or animal and/or some interesting information about them. Make sure you include only plant and animal species native to Arizona. For example, the White-winged Dove is commonly found in the Sonora Desert and the Southwest, so it would be a good choice for dove. You would research “birds of Arizona” to find information. See the Reeds (Common) example.

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Arizona Flora Glossary
Arizona Fauna Glossary


Cholla Cactus	Cottonwood Tree	Cresote Bush

Mesquite Tree	Palo Verde Tree	Prickly Pear
A cane-like grass, common reeds grow along creeks and riverbanks. Native people used them for musical instruments, weapons, food, games and medicines.
Reed (Common)	Saguaro Cactus	Scrubby Oak


Bobcat	Buzzard	Coyote

Cicada	Deer	Dove

Duck	Horned Toad	Javelina

Rattlesnake	Raven	Screw-Worms

Arizona Cattle Forage or Range Grasses


Sand Dropseed Grass	Buffalo Grass

Arizona Range Grasses

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Grass	Growth Habit	Color	Drawing	Origin
Alkali Sacaton	2 – 3 feet tall; grows in dense clumps	Pale green with grayish cast		Native
Arizona Fescue	2- 3 feet tall; densely clustered stems with wiry stalks	Gray green to blue green		Native
Blue Grama	6 – 12 inches tall; low-growing bunchgrass	Grayish green turning yellow straw		Native
Bottlebrush Squirreltail	5- 15 inches tall; clumped bunchgrass	Bright to dark green turning yellow		Native
Galleta	1 – 2 feet tall	Dull blue-green turning to light yellow		Native
Junegrass	Coarse sodgrass; 1 to 1 ½ feet tall	Bright to light green		Native
Sacaton	Coarse stemmed bunchgrass; 3- 6 feet tall	Pale green with grayish cast		Native
Vine Mesquite	Viney type of sodgrass	Light bluish-green turning to reddish straw color		Native
Western Wheatgrass	Moderately coarse sodgrass; 1 – 2 ½ feet tall	Blue green turning washed out strawlike		Native

Add two of your own choices.

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