DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Cercidium floridum | Blue Paloverde 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Blue paloverde is distributed through the Sonoran Desert.  Its range
extends from central and southwestern Arizona into southeastern
California [15,25,35,39,62,68].  Blue paloverde continues southward
through western Sonora, Mexico [5,21,47].  Disjunct populations of blue
paloverde are located in northern Sinaloa and Baja California Sur
[27,31,39,55,76].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES30  Desert shrub
   FRES40  Desert grasslands


STATES : 
     AZ  CA  MEXICO


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     JOTR  LAME  ORPI  SAGU


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    7  Lower Basin and Range


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K027  Mesquite bosque
   K041  Creosotebush
   K042  Creosotebush - bursage
   K043  Paloverde - cactus shrub


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    68  Mesquite
   242  Mesquite


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Blue paloverde is a characteristic member of the Sonoran Desert
floristic region [38,79].  It is a member of desert scrub communities.
Blue paloverde is a major component in creosotebush (Larrea tridentata)
and white bursage (Ambrosia dumosa) climax communities on lower bajadas
[8,12,22,38,74].

Blue paloverde is a facultative desert riparian species that may be
restricted to washes or arroyos in parts of its range but also occurs in
upland communities.  It primarily occurs in communities irregularly
scattered along arroyos [68].  These communities with intermittent water
are variously classified as desert riparian associations [33],
pseudo-riparian communities [11], desert wash woodlands [7,13,53,71],
Colorado River riparian forests [49], and desert microphyll associations
[61].  Codominants in all of these classifications are honey mesquite
(Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa), smoketree (Psorothamnus
spinosus), ironwood (Olneya tesota), desert willow (Chilopsis linearis),
and catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii) [52,58,71].

Blue paloverde is a dominant member of the mixed scrub series with
ironwood and jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) [68].  Within the broadleaf
woodland subformation, the paloverde series is dominated by either blue
paloverde or yellow paloverde; the understory is sparse in this series
[43].

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

(1)  A vegetation classification system applied to southern California [43]
(2)  The vascular plant communities of California [61]
(3)  Vegetation of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona: a gradient
       analysis of the south slope [74].

Species associated with blue paloverde but not previously mentioned in
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE include desert hackberry (Celtis pallida),
desert lavender (Hyptis emoryi), big saltbrush (Atriplex lentiformis),
Torrey seepweed (Suaeda torreyana), spidergrass (Aristida ternipes), and
Rothrock grama (Bouteloua rothrockii) [23,47,49,68].

Related categories for Species: Cercidium floridum | Blue Paloverde