BRN 9-4 - Flipbook - Page 61
The photographs of Arizona Cypress, right, are from Ash
Canyon, by Kelly Allred. His visit to the site on November
18, 2015, was part of a larger study. At the time he
described the trees:
ÒÉthere are only two large trees of about the same
size, with some saplings beneath, but no other trees
in the canyon or in the entire San Andres mountain
range (as far as is known, but the area has been
combed pretty well by various botanists and wildlife
folks). The trees are at a place that used to get quite
a few picnickers back in the day, and there used to
be an outbuilding there. If the population were
relictual, I would expect to Þnd other aged trees
away from these two, and perhaps stumps or
something to indicate other individuals. So, I cannot
be sure of the provenance of these trees, and we
suspect that they might have been planted by early
visitors/settlers. These were popular ornamental
trees back in the 30's-50's (or earlier) and we Þnd
similar sized trees on campus here and around old
buildings. Of course, we cannot be sure, and it is
possible that seeds were dropped by birds or spread
by browsing animals.
ÒI think all of the specimens you have seen from Ash
Spring or Ash Canyon are from these same trees.Ó
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