Arizona, Boyce Thompson Arboretum: Hesperaloe Funifera Stock Photography

Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) holds collections of desert plants from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Madagascar, India, China, Japan, Israel, South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Arabian Peninsula—all told 4,025 taxa and 20,000 plants within 135 acres of gardens. Situated on 372 acres of scenic upland Sonoran Desert with nearly five miles of trails, BTA is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden and one of Arizona’s top tourism sites. On display here: Hesperaloe funifera or Mexican false yucca - a plant species native to Texas (Val Verde County) and northern Mexico. Hesperaloe funifera also grows in the eastern edges of the Chihuahuan Desert. > a prickly pear cactus on the right.