The Desert Scene, 1 The Sonoran Desert and the Monument, 3 Climate: The Vital Factor, 9 Rocks: Foundation and Soilmakers, 13 Plant and Animal Zones, 19 Desert Plants, 23 Succulents, 25 The Saguaro—Monarch of the Monument, 27 Other Common Cactuses, 33 Non-Succulents, 36 Perennials, 36 Ephemerals, 42 Major Plant Communities of Saguaro, 49 Plants of the Hills and Mountains, 55 Oak-Pine Woodland, 55 Ponderosa Pine Forest, 58 Animals and How They Survive, 61 Invertebrates, 62 Amphibians, 64 Reptiles, 64 Birds, 66 Mammals, 72 The Rhythms of Nature, 79 The Impact of Man, 83 Appendix, 87 Suggested Reading, 87 Common and Scientific Names of Plants, 89 Reptiles and Amphibians of the monument, 92 Birds of the monument, 94 Mammals of the monument, 97 [Illustration: Brittlebush display along Cactus Forest Drive.] the desert scene Scattered through the wide, lonely Sonoran Desert, isolated mountain ranges raise jagged blue silhouettes against the sky. The high ones wear a crown of dark pines and a speckled mantle of oaks. Lapping against their feet is the desert sea, studded with the green masts of giant saguaro cactuses rising above a motley crew of tough, strange, often handsome subordinates.