Sabino Canyon: Plant Question

How do desert mistletoe seeds get "planted" in paloverde trees instead of in the soil?

This is a thinking question. What do you already know about seeds?

What are some of the ways seeds travel?

Can seeds contained in heavy berries fly or be sowed by the wind?

Here are two photographs that show other examples of the same thing.

Photograph of prickly pear cactus growing on a saguaro arm

Look in the very center of this photograph. How did this prickly pear get "planted" 60 feet off the ground in this tall saguaro?

Photograph of cocklebur

Many plants that are not native to Sabino Canyon arrived on the wind, in some animal's fur, or on someone's clothing. The spikes on the cocklebur's fruits helped it hitchhike into the canyon.