DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Cercidium microphyllum | Yellow Paloverde 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Yellow paloverde is distributed through central and southwestern Arizona
[16,31,43,88].  A few populations occur in southeastern California near
the Colorado River in the Whipple Mountains [3,10,26].  The range of
yellow paloverde extends southward through Sonora and Baja California,
Mexico [37,38,65,78,80,100].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES30  Desert shrub
   FRES40  Desert grasslands


STATES : 
     AZ  CA  MEXICO


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     DEVA  LAME  ORPI  SAGU


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    7  Lower Basin and Range


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K041  Creosotebush
   K042  Creosotebush - bursage
   K043  Paloverde - cactus shrub


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   242  Mesquite


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Yellow paloverde is an indicator species of the Sonoran Desert floristic
region [50].  It is a dominant species in the Arizona upland subdivision
of the Sonoran Desert [9,41,43,93].  Codominant species include
creosotebush (Larrea tridentata), triangle bursage (Ambrosia deltoidea),
brittle brush (Encelia farinosa), ocotillo (Fouqueria splendens), and
Berlandier wolfberry (Lycium belandieri) [9].  This assemblage is also
called the paloverde, bursage (Ambrosia spp.) desert scrub community
type.  It grades into spinose suffrutescent desert scrub [54].

A major climax association found on bajadas and rocky slopes throughout
the Sonoran Desert is the paloverde/saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
association [5,9,42,89,102].  This association grades into adjacent
semidesert grasslands and interior chaparral [53,54].

Yellow paloverde is the principal species in the paloverde series
[51,61].  This is also called the paloverde-cacti-mixed scrub series and
paloverde woodland and succulents association [93,103].

Yellow paloverde is a facultative riparian species.  It may move into
riparian areas from surrounding desert and upland positions [1,74,83].
Where precipitation is less than 3 inches (7.6 cm) per year, yellow
paloverde is confined to washes and is an obligate riparian species [2].

Yellow paloverde is listed as a dominant or indicator species in the
following publications:

(1)  A series vegetation classification for Region 3 [51]
(2)  A vegetation classification system applied to southern California
       [61]
(3)  Vegetation of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona: a gradient
       analysis of the south slope [99].

Species associated with yellow paloverde but not previously mentioned in
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE include white burrobrush (Hymenoclea
salsola), white ratany (Krameria grayi), organpipe cactus
(Lemaireocereus schottii), MacDougal ocotillo (Fouqueria macdougalii),
and heart leatherstem (Jatropha cordata) [25,78,97].

Related categories for Species: Cercidium microphyllum | Yellow Paloverde