EPA Level III Ecoregion
Sonoran Basin and Range
434 native plants for the Sonoran Basin and Range ecoregion (Phoenix area).
The Sonoran Basin and Range covers Phoenix, Tucson, and the Coachella Valley around Palm Springs. It is the hottest ecoregion in the country, softened by two rainy seasons: winter storms and the summer monsoon. Sonoran natives like penstemon, desert milkweed, and chuparosa time their growth to those rains and carry a front yard through 110-degree summers that finish off conventional landscaping.
Conditions: Rocky, alkaline desert soils, 3–12 inches of biseasonal rainfall, the hottest summers in the United States.
Cities and areas: Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, Yuma.
434 Native Plants for the Sonoran Basin and Range
HOA-friendly picks listed first. Pet-safety status varies by species; each plant page shows its sourced ASPCA status. Native range data from the USDA PLANTS Database and regional native plant society lists.

Scarlet Lobelia
Lobelia cardinalis

Tall Grama Grass
Bouteloua curtipendula

Blue Grama
Bouteloua gracilis

Horsetail Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata

Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica

Canada Wild Rye
Elymus canadensis

California-poppy
Eschscholzia californica

Firewheel
Gaillardia pulchella

Wafer-ash
Ptelea trifoliata

California Wild Buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum

Coastal Tidytips
Layia platyglossa

Deer Grass
Muhlenbergia rigens

Plains Blackfoot
Melampodium leucanthum
Solomon's-plume
Maianthemum racemosum

Fiddleneck
Phacelia tanacetifolia

Arroyo Lupine
Lupinus succulentus

White Sage
Salvia apiana

Showy Penstemon
Penstemon spectabilis

California Fuchsia
Epilobium canum

Black Sage
Salvia mellifera

Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany
Cercocarpus betuloides

Scarlet Bugler
Penstemon centranthifolius

Blue Thimble-flower
Gilia capitata

Blue Elderberry
Sambucus mexicana

Bigberry Manzanita
Arctostaphylos glauca

California Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia

Scarlet Monkeyflower
Erythranthe cardinalis

California Sycamore
Platanus racemosa

Cuneate Ceanothus
Ceanothus cuneatus

California Sagebrush
Artemisia californica

Hollyleaf Cherry
Prunus ilicifolia

Tomcat Clover
Trifolium willdenovii

Seep Monkeyflower
Erythranthe guttata

Desert Wishbone-bush
Mirabilis laevis

California-laurel
Umbellularia californica

Chia
Salvia columbariae

Skunkbush Sumac
Rhus trilobata

Tree-poppy
Dendromecon rigida

Blue Wild Rye
Elymus glaucus

Basin Sagebrush
Artemisia tridentata

Chick Lupine
Lupinus microcarpus

Mexican Rush
Juncus mexicanus

California Goldfields
Lasthenia californica

Catalina Nightshade
Solanum xanti
Canyon Live Oak
Quercus chrysolepis

Four-wing Saltbush
Atriplex canescens

Prairie Goldenrod
Solidago missouriensis

Sugar Sumac
Rhus ovata

Blue Elderberry
Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea

Prairie Grass
Sporobolus cryptandrus

Snapdragon Penstemon
Keckiella antirrhinoides

Singleleaf Pinyon Pine
Pinus monophylla

California Fuchsia
Zauschneria californica

Emory's Globemallow
Sphaeralcea emoryi

Desert Milkweed
Asclepias erosa

White Sage
Krascheninnikovia lanata

Whitewhorl Lupine
Lupinus densiflorus

Hoary Tansyaster
Dieteria canescens

Baltic Rush
Juncus balticus

Sanddune Wallflower
Erysimum capitatum

Hairy Grama
Bouteloua hirsuta

Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus
Echinocereus engelmannii

Iris-Leaved Rush
Juncus xiphioides

Southern Bush Monkeyflower
Diplacus longiflorus

Tufted Evening-primrose
Oenothera cespitosa
Arizona Cypress
Cupressus arizonica

Australian Saltbush
Atriplex semibaccata

Spreading Fleabane
Erigeron divergens

Indian Ricegrass
Achnatherum hymenoides

Paleface
Hibiscus denudatus

Sawatch Knotweed
Polygonum sawatchense

Japanese Privet
Ligustrum japonicum

Interior Rush
Juncus interior

Netleaf Oak
Quercus rugosa

California Satintail
Imperata brevifolia

Texas-mountain-laurel
Sophora secundiflora

Ragged Rockflower
Crossosoma bigelovii

New Mexico Pennyroyal
Hedeoma drummondii

Feather Pennisetum
Setaria parviflora

Torrey's Rush
Juncus torreyi

Fee'S Lipfern
Cheilanthes feei

Antelope-sage
Eriogonum jamesii

Purple Cliffbrake
Pellaea atropurpurea
White Tridens
Tridens albescens

Plains Love Grass
Eragrostis intermedia

Marsh Alkali Aster
Almutaster pauciflorus

Howard McMinn Manzanita
Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn'
Beardlip Penstemon
Penstemon barbatus

Spreading Bent
Agrostis stolonifera

Variegated-bract Blazingstar
Mentzelia montana

Scarlet Beeblossom
Gaura coccinea

Bush Muhly
Muhlenbergia porteri

Blue Dicks
Dichelostemma capitatum

Cut-Leaf Ironplant
Xanthisma spinulosum

Desert Gooseberry
Ribes velutinum

Prairie-Gentian
Eustoma exaltatum

Washerwoman
Alternanthera caracasana

Perennial Rockcress
Arabis perennans

Alkali Muhly
Muhlenbergia asperifolia

Narrowleaf Milkweed
Asclepias fascicularis

Utah Ash
Fraxinus anomala

Ray Hartman California Lilac
Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman'

Nodding Needlegrass
Nassella cernua

California Gilia
Gilia achilleifolia

White Four O'clock
Mirabilis albida

Thicket Globemallow
Sphaeralcea fendleri
Seaside Petunia
Petunia parviflora

Desert Almond
Prunus fasciculata
Sticky-leaf Rabbitbrush
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus

Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa

Fendler'S Euphorbia
Euphorbia fendleri

Flaxflowered Ipomopsis
Ipomopsis longiflora

Purple Sand Verbena
Abronia angustifolia

Common Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis

Bastard Indigo-bush
Amorpha fruticosa
Canadian Elder
Sambucus canadensis

Rum Cherry
Prunus serotina

Fogfruit
Phyla nodiflora

Calliopsis
Coreopsis tinctoria

Louisiana Sagewort
Artemisia ludoviciana

Smooth Sumac
Rhus glabra

Lewis's Flax
Linum lewisii

Sunflower
Helianthus annuus

Ash-leaf Maple
Acer negundo

Common Woolly Sunflower
Eriophyllum lanatum

Broomsedge
Andropogon glomeratus

Hemp Dogbane
Apocynum cannabinum

California Figwort
Scrophularia californica

Purple Threeawn
Aristida purpurea

Apache-beads
Anemopsis californica

Clustered Field Sedge
Carex praegracilis

Hooker's Evening Primrose
Oenothera elata

Saltmarsh Fleabane
Pluchea odorata

Stream Orchid
Epipactis gigantea

Great Scouring-rush
Equisetum hyemale

Chamisa
Ericameria nauseosa

Cutgrass
Leersia oryzoides

Canby'S Bluegrass
Poa secunda

Alkali Sacaton
Sporobolus airoides
Red Willow
Salix laevigata

Cooper's-reed
Typha latifolia

American Licorice
Glycyrrhiza lepidota

Fremont's Cottonwood
Populus fremontii

Russian Tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus

Cuban-spinach
Claytonia perfoliata

Dotseed Plantain
Plantago erecta

Bracken
Pteridium aquilinum

Clammyweed
Polanisia dodecandra

Smooth Heliotrope
Heliotropium curassavicum

Pale Spikerush
Eleocharis macrostachya

Narrowleaf Willow
Salix exigua

Arrow-weed
Pluchea sericea

Hardstem Bulrush
Schoenoplectus acutus

Arroyo Willow
Salix lasiolepis

Great Bulrush
Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani

Prairie Gourd
Cucurbita foetidissima

Hairy Clover Fern
Marsilea vestita

Copper Globe-mallow
Sphaeralcea angustifolia

Rattlesnake-weed
Daucus pusillus

American Willowherb
Epilobium ciliatum

Golden Corydalis
Corydalis aurea

Western Prickly-pear
Opuntia macrorhiza

Chairmaker's-rush
Schoenoplectus pungens

Sweet Brome
Bromus carinatus

Coyote Gourd
Cucurbita palmata

Tall Flatsedge
Cyperus eragrostis

Creeping Spike-rush
Eleocharis palustris

Cliff Prickly-pear
Opuntia polyacantha

Bastard Toadflax
Comandra umbellata

Bush Seepweed
Suaeda nigra

Red Oat
Avena sativa

Salt Grass
Distichlis spicata

Scarlet Monkeyflower
Mimulus cardinalis

Old-witch Grass
Panicum capillare

Clasping Venus's-looking-glass
Triodanis perfoliata

Coast Fiddleneck
Amsinckia intermedia

Parry's Phacelia
Phacelia parryi

Carrot
Daucus carota

Toad Rush
Juncus bufonius

Spike Redtop
Agrostis exarata

Bottlebrush Squirreltail
Elymus elymoides

Common Fiddleneck
Amsinckia menziesii
Tansy-aster
Machaeranthera tanacetifolia

Smooth Scouring-rush
Equisetum laevigatum

Watercress
Nasturtium officinale

California Bulrush
Schoenoplectus californicus

Red-Root Flat Sedge
Cyperus erythrorhizos

Needle Grama
Bouteloua aristidoides

Thurber's Sandpaper Plant
Petalonyx thurberi

Christmas Cactus
Opuntia leptocaulis

Hoary Goosefoot
Chenopodium incanum

Silkcotton Purslane
Portulaca halimoides
Clammy Goosefoot
Dysphania pumilio

Alkali-mallow
Malvella leprosa

Broom Milkwort
Polygala scoparioides

Spotted Sandmat
Euphorbia maculata

Stiff Tumbleweed
Amaranthus albus

Alkali Buttercup
Ranunculus cymbalaria

Colbaga
Brassica rapa

Chingma-lantern
Abutilon theophrasti

Stinkgrass
Eragrostis cilianensis

Dallisgrass
Paspalum dilatatum

Desert Dicoria
Dicoria canescens

White-stem Evening-primrose
Oenothera albicaulis

Tumble Mustard
Sisymbrium altissimum

Cotton-batting-plant
Pseudognaphalium stramineum

Common Sandweed
Athysanus pusillus

Beaked-sandbur
Solanum rostratum

Carrot-fern
Conium maculatum

Rocketsalad
Eruca vesicaria

California-rape
Sinapis arvensis

Powell's Amaranth
Amaranthus powellii

Oval-leaf Knotweed
Polygonum arenastrum

Hairy-pod Pepperwort
Lepidium lasiocarpum

Milk Thistle
Lactuca serriola

Fat-hen
Atriplex prostrata

Cleavers
Galium aparine

Dirty-dora
Cyperus difformis
Seaside Brookweed
Samolus parviflorus

California Mustard
Guillenia lasiophylla

Pale Desert-thorn
Lycium pallidum

Smooth Cat's-ear
Hypochaeris glabra

Schott's Calico
Loeseliastrum schottii

Cushion Cryptantha
Cryptantha circumscissa

Carelessweed
Amaranthus palmeri

False Water-pepper
Persicaria hydropiperoides

Ridge-seed Spurge
Euphorbia glyptosperma

Lobeleaf Groundsel
Packera multilobata

Maiden Blue Eyed Mary
Collinsia parviflora

Broom-like Ragwort
Senecio spartioides

Paiute False Bindweed
Calystegia longipes

Black Mustard
Brassica nigra

Mojave Popcornflower
Plagiobothrys jonesii

Prairie-berry
Solanum elaeagnifolium

Rydberg's Poison-ivy
Toxicodendron rydbergii

Parish Spikerush
Eleocharis parishii

Marsh Parsley
Cyclospermum leptophyllum

Common Fireweed
Senecio vulgaris

Persian-lilac
Melia azedarach
Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii

Hedge-parsley
Torilis nodosa

Parachute Plant
Atrichoseris platyphylla

Five-horn Smotherweed
Bassia hyssopifolia

Hoary Tansyaster
Machaeranthera canescens

Hooker's Bur Ragweed
Ambrosia acanthicarpa

Rocky Mountain Sage
Salvia reflexa

Prickly Russian Thistle
Salsola tragus

Sago Pondweed
Potamogeton pectinatus

Prairie Cup Grass
Eriochloa contracta

Wingpod Purslane
Portulaca umbraticola

Old-Field Three-Awn
Aristida oligantha

Desert Thorn-apple
Datura discolor

Disc Mayweed
Matricaria matricarioides

Texas-pea
Astragalus nuttallianus

Moth Combseed
Pectocarya setosa

Mountain Brome
Bromus marginatus

Cooper Popcornflower
Plagiobothrys collinus

Carolina Geranium
Geranium carolinianum

Pennsylvania Pellitory
Parietaria pensylvanica

Mojave Suncup
Camissonia campestris

Foetid Chamomile
Anthemis cotula

Common Purslane
Portulaca oleracea

Arizona Sycamore
Platanus wrightii

Water Star-grass
Heteranthera dubia

Arizona Brome
Bromus arizonicus

Green Dock
Rumex conglomeratus

Field Sandbur
Cenchrus incertus

Arizona Mousetail
Myosurus cupulatus

Desert Indian Paintbrush
Castilleja chromosa

Alkali Buttercup
Halerpestes cymbalaria

Cluster Broomrape
Orobanche fasciculata

Many-flower Standing-cypress
Ipomopsis multiflora

Tumbling-Ringwing
Cycloloma atriplicifolium

Knotgrass
Paspalum distichum

Fremont Pincushion
Chaenactis fremontii

Ground-cherry
Physalis pubescens

Duckweed
Lemna minor

Prostrate Sandmat
Euphorbia prostrata

Lesser Swine-cress
Coronopus didymus

Wild Onion
Asphodelus fistulosus

Short-point Flatsedge
Cyperus acuminatus

Balloon-cherry
Physalis angulata
Burningbush
Bassia scoparia

Sleepy Catchfly
Silene antirrhina

Texas Croton
Croton texensis

Wingnut Catseye
Cryptantha pterocarya

Earth-almond
Cyperus esculentus

Toothcup
Ammannia coccinea

Rough Milk Thistle
Sonchus asper

Hampshire-purslane
Ludwigia palustris

Prostrate Sandmat
Chamaesyce prostrata
London Rocket
Sisymbrium irio

Emory's Baccharis
Baccharis salicina

Little Bur-clover
Medicago minima

Cherry-stone Juniper
Juniperus monosperma

Red Natal Grass
Melinis repens

Plains Sunflower
Helianthus petiolaris

Common Chickweed
Stellaria media

Tansy Mustard
Descurainia sophia

Husk-tomato
Physalis philadelphica

Russian Mulberry
Morus alba

Horned Spurge
Euphorbia brachycera

Bitter Dock
Rumex obtusifolius

Rosy Gilia
Gilia sinuata

Bird'S-Eye
Anagallis arvensis

Annual Bluegrass
Poa annua

Annual-bristle Grass
Aristida adscensionis

Small-flowered Gaura
Oenothera curtiflora

Jumping Cholla
Cylindropuntia fulgida

Longleaf Pondweed
Potamogeton nodosus

Colorado Desert-marigold
Baileya pauciradiata

Canada Spikesedge
Eleocharis geniculata

Pelotazo
Abutilon incanum

Floating Pennywort
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides

Freckled Milkvetch
Astragalus lentiginosus

Fiddle Dock
Rumex pulcher

White Twinheads
Eclipta prostrata

Arizona Popcorn-flower
Plagiobothrys arizonicus

Necklaceweed
Veronica peregrina

Persian Speedwell
Veronica persica

Marine Naiad
Najas marina

Utah Juniper
Juniperus osteosperma

Swamp Sawgrass
Cladium mariscus

Spotted Sandmat
Chamaesyce maculata

Crested Anoda
Anoda cristata

Linseed
Linum usitatissimum

Hoary Bowlesia
Bowlesia incana

Horseweed
Conyza canadensis

Field Bindweed
Convolvulus arvensis

Nettleleaf Goosefoot
Chenopodium murale

Skeleton-weed
Eriogonum deflexum

Scarlet Gilia
Ipomopsis aggregata

Mucronate Sprangletop
Leptochloa panicea

Bristly Fiddleneck
Amsinckia tessellata

Roughpod Spurge
Euphorbia spathulata

Brown Beetle-grass
Diplachne fusca

Common Bittercress
Cardamine hirsuta

Japanese Poinsettia
Euphorbia heterophylla

Hoary Plantain
Plantago virginica
Californian Burr, Burweed, Cocklebur
Xanthium orientale

Variegated Artichoke
Silybum marianum

Roman-wormwood
Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Roundleaf Phacelia
Phacelia rotundifolia

Algarroba-bean
Prosopis juliflora

Beaked Spikerush
Eleocharis rostellata

Bitter Rubberweed
Hymenoxys odorata

Wedgeleaf Draba
Draba cuneifolia

Celery Buttercup
Ranunculus sceleratus

Jerusalem-oak
Dysphania botrys

Spreading Pigweed
Amaranthus graecizans

American Cotton
Gossypium hirsutum

Nuttall's Monolepis
Monolepis nuttalliana

Seaside Petunia
Calibrachoa parviflora

Desert Pincushion
Chaenactis stevioides

Least Pepperwort
Lepidium virginicum

Spreading Alkaliweed
Cressa truxillensis

Mojave Brickellbush
Brickellia oblongifolia

Scarlet Spiderling
Boerhavia coccinea

Cabbage
Brassica oleracea

Pale Knotweed
Persicaria lapathifolia

Erect Spiderling
Boerhavia erecta

Fremont'S Goosefoot
Chenopodium fremontii

Desert Goosefoot
Chenopodium pratericola

Whorled Marsh Pennywort
Hydrocotyle verticillata

Redseed Plantain
Plantago rhodosperma

Horseweed
Ambrosia trifida

Spanish Brome
Bromus madritensis
Jesusplant
Persicaria maculosa

Copper-flowered Bird's-foot Trefoil
Hosackia oblongifolia

Durban Crowfoot
Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Low Rattlebox
Crotalaria pumila

Argentine Fleabane
Erigeron bonariensis

Wright's Rabbit-tobacco
Pseudognaphalium canescens

India Love Grass
Eragrostis pilosa

Tansy Mustard
Descurainia pinnata

Little Barley
Hordeum pusillum

Pacific Azolla
Azolla filiculoides

Tall Fleabane
Conyza bonariensis

Tall Mountain Larkspur
Delphinium scaposum

Bladdermallow
Herissantia crispa

California Amaranth
Amaranthus californicus

Hyssop-leaf Sandmat
Euphorbia hyssopifolia

Black Bindweed
Fallopia convolvulus

Joint-leaf Rush
Juncus articulatus
Coulter's Lupine
Lupinus sparsiflorus

Pigweed
Chenopodium berlandieri

Asthmaplant
Euphorbia hirta

Crow-poison
Nothoscordum bivalve

American Brooklime
Veronica americana

Woolly Plantain
Plantago patagonica

Six-weeks Fescue
Vulpia octoflora

India Mustard
Brassica juncea

Common Plantain
Plantago major

Prostrate Knotweed
Polygonum aviculare

Mouse-ear Chickweed
Cerastium glomeratum

Hemp
Cannabis sativa

Mossman River Grass
Cenchrus echinatus

California-bur
Xanthium strumarium

Dodder
Cuscuta campestris

Sea Club-rush
Bolboschoenus maritimus

Redstem Stork's Bill
Erodium cicutarium

California Caltrop
Kallstroemia californica

Bearded Flat Sedge
Cyperus squarrosus

Sixweeks Grama
Bouteloua barbata

Mexican Dock
Rumex triangulivalvis

Saltmarsh Sandspurry
Spergularia marina

Curled Dock
Rumex crispus

Blowball
Taraxacum officinale

Dotted Smartweed
Persicaria punctata

Horseweed
Erigeron canadensis

Dyer's-saffron
Carthamus tinctorius

Dunbible-weed
Ambrosia psilostachya

Tickle Grass
Agrostis scabra

Spiny Sheepbur
Lappula occidentalis

Melon
Cucumis melo

Yellow Sweetclover
Melilotus officinalis

Whitestem Blazingstar
Mentzelia albicaulis

Newberry'S Milkvetch
Astragalus newberryi

Lesser Pondweed
Potamogeton pusillus

Railroad-creeper
Ipomoea cairica

Calingale
Cyperus odoratus

Vine Mesquite
Hopia obtusa

Tufted Lovegrass
Eragrostis pectinacea

Ditch Rabbitsfoot Grass
Polypogon interruptus

Streambank Springbeauty
Claytonia parviflora

Bitter Bottle Gourd
Cucurbita pepo

Field Sandbur
Cenchrus spinifex

Tall Annual Willowherb
Epilobium brachycarpum

Bearded Cryptantha
Cryptantha barbigera

Small Wirelettuce
Stephanomeria exigua

Warty Caltrop
Kallstroemia parviflora

Hairy Crabweed
Fatoua villosa

Glandular Threadplant
Nemacladus glanduliferus

Skyblue Phacelia
Phacelia coerulea
Build a plan for the Sonoran Basin and Range
Pollinator Patch turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Phoenix area.