The Ancient Desert Gardens of the Ancestral Pueblo | Southern Utah

#ancestralpuebloans #utah #cacti
*This video was taken on January 4th, 2024*
• Situated at the base of the mighty Abajo Mountains - these Navajo Sandstone arroyos were once the desert homes, & gardens of the Ancestral Puebloan people (Anasazi). Some of the plants shown in this video are the direct descendants of seeds these people planted 800 - 1000 years ago for year round food, and other necessities. Quite a few plant communities on the southern end of the Colorado Plateau are 70 - 80% evergreen. Hosting a wide array of different broadleaf evergreens, cacti, yuccas, and evergreen perennials. This area is home to my favorite, and the most unique broadleaf evergreen native to Utah - the roundleaf buffaloberry (Shepherdia rotundifolia). This extremely succulent, silver shrub is endemic only to Eastern / Southern Utah, and a very small portion of Northern Arizona. You won’t find this special plant anywhere else on earth. These sacred lands are still the rightful home of the Navajo (Dinè) people today, and many more that came before them. It should always be treated with the upmost respect.
Plant species shown in the video: Yucca baccata var. baccata, Yucca baileyi, Opuntia phaecantha, Opuntia macrocentra (?) x phaecantha hybrids, Opuntia trichophora, Echinocereus mojavensis, Arctostaphylos patula, Shepherdia rotundifolia, and a unknown evergreen Penstemon Sp.

[@juanramos.jr.7948]

Absolutely wonderful video! Loved the ancestral music

[@southwesthardypalms]

Thanks Juan, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@timmillan6701]

Always interested in native Yucca species

[@Tarzan-trick]

If you’re interested in doing a survey of rare plants in the Washington county area my brother and I are locals and know a lot of interesting spots

[@southwesthardypalms]

Thanks for watching! I am exploring southern Utah for almost 3 weeks, and will be making my way to Washington County next Friday. I would love to hear of some interesting spots, the Mojave is my favorite region in the whole state. Do you know where I could find a dense population of Agave utahensis?

[@alpineflauge909]

describe it and maybe get it named after u