THE SONORAN DESERT FLORILEGIUM
Read about this unique florilegium established to document plants native to the Sonoran Desert. Browse the selection of artworks of Sonoran Desert plants.
Visit our online exhibit, a complete presentation of Botanical Art of the Sonoran Desert: Past & Present, a 2013 exhibit shown at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's Ironwood Gallery.
The USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
The artists of the USDA's Pomological Division painted some 7000 works between 1886 and 1942. Hundreds of these paintings can be seen in two recently published books. A selection of the works can be viewed here.
An archive of articles about botanical art from the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society's newsletter The Desert Breeze. Olneya tesota, desert ironwood, by Margaret Pope (right).
Read about the life and writings of Joseph Wood Krutch and the new Florilegium of the Joseph Wood Krutch Garden at the University of Arizona
HISTORICAL ART
OF THE SONORAN DESERT
Read about the 19th century artists who first illustrated the landscapes and plants of the Sonoran Desert for the great survey expeditions in the American West
CREATING A BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION
Learn about the process of creating a scientific botanical illustration, also called a botanical plate.
Illustrations from Legumes of Arizona,
an Illustrated Flora and Reference
Twenty-eight of the plants illustrated for the Legumes of Arizona project are native to the Sonoran Desert and are included in the Sonoran Desert Florilegium. These intricate pen and ink illustrations can be viewed here, along with information about the Legumes of Arizona project.
Read about our projects to preserve and exhibit botanical art, both historical and contemporary.
Illustrations of the
Queen of the Night Cactus
The Sonoran Desert's beautiful summer nightbloomer, Peniocereus greggii, can be seen here in 15 illustrations, ranging from historic scientific illustrations to evocative portraits of the flowers.
View works from several past exhibits of botanical art of the Sonoran Desert, including Gentry’s Agaves, illustrations from Howard Scott Gentry’s landmark work on the genus Agave.
