Arid Agriculture

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Date	Type	Title/Summary
11/01/2025	Crop	Hippophae rhamnoides Hippophae rhamnoides is a hardy, deciduous shrub that can grow between 2 and 4 m high (between 7 and 13 ft). It has a rough, brown or black bark and a thick, grayish-green crown. The leaves are alternate, narrow and lanceolate, with silvery-green upper faces. It is dioecious, meaning that...
10/24/2025	Video	John Graffio (Homeowner/Landowner Pearce, AZ) John Graffio describes water issues and possible solutions.
10/12/2025	Person	Andrew Millison Andrew is a Senior Instructor II in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University (OSU) where he founded OSU Permaculture Design in 2009. Collaborating with experts at OSU, Andrew developed an online permaculture education program with niche offerings that has evolved into a worldwide program that has served...
10/12/2025	Video	This Native Supercrop Is WAY Better Than Corn And No One Grows It Anymore! This Native Supercrop Is WAY Better Than Corn And No One Grows It Anymore! History says corn ruled the Americas. Wrong. Another plant outperformed it in every way—protein, minerals, survival. Ancient tribes grew it everywhere. Colonizers tried to erase it forever. But could it come back? Don’t miss the last...
10/12/2025	Publication	Greening of the Earth and its drivers Global environmental change is rapidly altering the dynamics of terrestrial vegetation with consequences for the functioning of the Earth system and provision of ecosystem services 1,2 . Yet how global vegetation is responding to the changing environment is not well established. Here we use 3 long-term satellite leaf area index...

Notes on this list: not all of these crops are commercially viable. Some are considered weeds in many countries. They appear here because of potential uses and existing studies that show promise as livestock feeds and pharmaceutical extracts.
Displaying 21 - 32 of 32 crops.

Crop Photo	Description
	Stenocereus griseus (Mexican organ pipe, dagger cactus, pitaya, pitayo de mayo) This tree-like cactus can grow up to 9 m tall, with stems up to 12 cm in diameter.[1] Depending on the cactus, the color of the fruit vary from white, yellow, red, and purple being the hardest to find. Its fruit is edible to humans and is considered good tasting. It is planted as an ornamental and as a living fence in warm regions. When used as a fence, it can be impervious to animals due to its spiny nature.
	Stenocereus thurberi (Organ pipe cactus) Stenocereus thurberi, the organ pipe cactus, is a species of cactus native to Mexico and the United States. The species is found in rocky desert. Two subspecies are recognized based on their distribution and height. The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is named for the species. Its English common name is derived from its resemblance to a pipe organ. It is locally known as pitaya dulce, Spanish for "sweet pitaya" or sweet cactus fruit.
	Stenocereus queretaroensis (Pitaya de Querétaro) Stenocereus queretaroensis is a species of cactus from Mexico, including the state of Querétaro. It is cultivated for its fruit. Plants are tall, up to 5–6 m (16–20 ft), with a central trunk followed by many upturned branches, producing a candelabra-like shape. The stems are around 15 cm (6 in) across and have six to eight very distinct ribs. The areoles produce five to nine whitish radial spines, up to 2 cm (0.8 in) long, and one to four somewhat grayer central spines, of which the lower are longer, up to 4 cm (1.6 in). The scented white flowers are borne from the sides of...
	stenocereus gummosus (Pitaya agria, Sour pitaya) Stenocereus fruit (sour pitayas) are a variety that is commonly eaten in the arid regions of the Americas. They are more sour and refreshing, with juicier flesh and a stronger taste. The sour pitaya or pitaya agria (S. gummosus) in the Sonoran Desert has been an important food source for indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Seri people of northwestern Mexico still harvest the fruit, and call the plant ziix is ccapxl "thing whose fruit is sour".
	agave tequilana (Agave azul, Blue agave) Agave azul (blue agave) is used in the production of tequila. It is native to the Caribbean as well as many regions of Mexico like Colima, Nayarit, Jalisco and more. In 2001, the Mexican government and European Union agreed upon the classification of tequila and its categories. All 100% blue agave tequila must be made from the A. tequilana 'Weber's Blue' agave plant, to rigorous specifications and only in certain Mexican states. Blue agave is significantly different from other types of agave because it is higher in fructose and much sweeter compared to the rest. It is also the primary...
	prosopis velutina (Mesquite, Velvet mesquite) Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium-sized tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran Desert.
	trichocereus pachanoi (San Pedro cactus) A fast-growing columnar cactus native to the Andes Mountains at 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft) in altitude. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and it is cultivated in other parts of the world. Uses for it include traditional medicine and traditional veterinary medicine, and it is widely grown as an ornamental cactus. It has been used for healing and religious divination in the Andes Mountains region for over 3,000 years.
	myrtillocactus geometrizans (Bilberry cactus, Blue candle cactus, Blue myrtle cactus, Whortleberry cactus) Myrtillocactus geometrizans is a large shrubby cactus growing to 4–5 m tall, with candelabra-like branching on mature plants. The individual stems are 6–10 cm diameter, with five (occasionally six) ribs, with areoles spaced 1.5–3 cm apart. The flowers are creamy white, 2–2.5 cm diameter. The fruit is an edible dark purple berry 1–2 cm diameter, superficially resembling Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry or whortleberry) fruit; both the scientific and English names derive from this resemblance.
	Opuntia megacantha (Nopal blanco) Opuntia megacantha is a shrub that grows in the form of a tree and reaches a height of 4 to 5 meters. Sometimes they form colonies. The sections are ovate to oblong gray-green to light green 40 to 60 (or more) cm long. The small leaves are green or purple. The small areolas are 4 to 5 cm long and bear small yellow glochids . It has 1 to 5 whitish spines, divergent 2 to 3 cm long. The yellow to orange flowers, reaching a length of up to 8 centimeters. The fruits are 7-8 cm long.
	Opuntia linguiformis (Cow's Tongue) A prickly pear cactus with red fruit and elongated leaves.
	Opuntia robusta (Mickey Mouse Cactus, Silver Dollar Cactus, Wheel Cactus) Opuntia robusta, the wheel cactus, nopal tapon, or camuesa, is a species of cactus in the family Cactaceae. It is native and endemic to central and northern Mexico to within 100 miles (160 km) of the Arizona and New Mexico borders where it grow from 5,000 to 10,000 feet (1,500 to 3,000 m) on rocky slopes, open shrub lands, woodlands and mixed with other cactus and succulents.
	Cereus peruvianus (Peruvian apple cactus) With an often tree-like appearance, its cylindrical gray-green to blue stems can reach 10 metres (33 feet) in height and 10–20 cm in diameter as a self-supporting plant. However, if supported by a scaffold, C. repandus has grown to a height of 110 feet (34 meters) at the SDM College of Dental Sciences at Dharwad, Karnataka, India, technically making this the tallest cactus plant in the world, although no cactus under natural conditions exceeds eighty-two feet (25 meters) in height in the case of Cereus stenogonus. There are nine to ten rounded ribs that are up to...

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