In lower elevations of the Tucson Mountain Section, the gray-blue foliage of IRONWOOD is a common sight, but the species does not range farther eastward. Its wisterialike lavender-and-white flowers blossom in May and June. The nutritious seeds are harvested by rodents and formerly were parched and eaten by Indians. The wood is so dense that it sinks in water; Indians used it for making arrowheads and tool handles. Ferns—commonly, plants of dank woods and other moist habitats—seem entirely out of place in the desert; nevertheless, some members of the fern family have overcome drought conditions. The GOLDFERN is common on rocky ledges, where it persists by means of special drought-resistant cells. Among the smaller perennials are many that add to spring flower displays when conditions of moisture and temperature are favorable. Perennials do not need to mature their seeds before the coming of summer as do the ephemerals; a majority start blossoming somewhat later in the spring, and gaily flaunt their flowers long after the annuals have faded and died. When the heat and drought of early summer begin to bear down, they gradually die back, surviving the “long dry” by their persistent roots and larger stems. One of the most noticeable and beautiful of this group of small perennials fairly common in the monument is PARRY’S PENSTEMON. It occurs in scattered clumps on well-drained slopes along the base of Tanque Verde Ridge. The showy rose-magenta flowers and the glossy-green leaves arise from erect stems that may grow 4 feet tall in favorable seasons. Among the first of the shrubby perennials to cover the rocky hillsides with a blanket of winter and springtime bloom is the BRITTLEBUSH. Masses of yellow sunflowerlike blossoms are borne on long stems that exude a gum which was chewed by the Indians and was also burned as incense in early mission churches. A conspicuous perennial that survives the dry season as an underground bulb is BLUEDICKS. Although it doesn’t occur in massed bloom, it does add spots of color to the desert scene. Usually appearing from February to May, bluedicks has violet flower clusters on long, slender, erect stems. The bulbs were dug and eaten by Pima and Papago Indians. Although neither conspicuous nor attractive, the common TRIANGLE BURSAGE is an important part of the paloverde-saguaro community in the Tucson Mountains. A low, rounded, white-barked shrub, bursage has small, colorless flowers without petals. (Being wind-pollinated, the flowers do not need to attract insects.)