Trees and large shrubs can form nearly continuous canopies along the banks of washes. The central channel is kept clear by the raging flash floods that occur every few years. The sapling in the middle of this channel is a smoke tree (Psorothamnus spinosus), a fast-growing pioneer species only a couple of years old. It will be ripped out during the next major flash flood.


Retrieved from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum web site on 12-23-2024
http://desert.museum/desert/habitats_aa04.php