Nurse plant
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A nurse plant is one that serves the ecological role of helping seedlings establish themselves, and of protecting young plants from harsh conditions. This effect is particularly well studied among pla
A paloverde tree acting as a nurse plant to a saguaro in the Sonoran Desert not far from the Superstition mountains.
Saguaro cactus in the shade of a palo verde tree
Parkinsonia microphylla
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Parkinsonia microphylla, the yellow paloverde, foothill paloverde or little-leaved palo verde; syn. Cercidium microphyllum, is a species of palo verde.
Nurse plant
…help with seedling recruitment and protect plants from granivory. A saguaro's root system is restricted to 15 cm of soil surface and the Palo Verde's (Cercidium microphyllum) roots go deeper under the surface. Studies suggest that a saguaro's network of roots intercept moisture before it can reach a Palo Verde's roots. When…
Parkinsonia microphylla form
Flowers
Saguaro and Palo Verde forest, Ironwood Forest National Monument
Trunk of the Parkinsonia microphylla at the Desert Botanical Garden