inVASIVE Plants - ZINE
ABOUT THE ZINE
This 43-page illustrated handbook is a tool for identifying invasive plants in the Sonoran Desert and urban areas around Tucson, Arizona. But more than that, it is an invitation to look deeper.
Rather than framing species as simply “good” or “bad,” this project examines each plant as a reflection of ecosystem conditions. It challenges colonial conservation narratives and honors the deep knowledge and stewardship of Indigenous peoples, who have long cared for this land.
This first edition encourages thoughtful, reciprocal relationships with these plants—recognizing their resilience, exploring their potential uses, and reshaping how we respond to the changing desert around us. It offers practical resources for plant identification, while weaving in alternative perspectives that move us toward restoration and coexistence.
Goals:
Mitigate the negative impact of invasive species
Explore their beneficial qualities for the collective good
Share evolving, community-centered knowledge
Reimagine conservation through inclusive, justice-oriented lenses
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Deepen your relationship to plants & place
Climate justice - it impacts us all regionally and globally
Many Invasive plants offer benefits: medicine, food and construction
Many Common westernized control methods (discarding to landfills, chemicals) can risk resistance, harms native flora, fauna, humans, earth
Indigenous people preserve 80% of Earth’s remaining biodiversity despite accounting for only 6.2% of the overall population
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Outcompete native plants for resources (h2o, sun, nutrients, habitat)
Reduces the region’s natural biodiversity (plants, insects, habitat)
Better adapted to wildfires unlike native species
Can cause extinction of native species
Disturbs sacred sites and impacts tribal lands fire hazard & Better Adapted to survive wildfires unlike native species
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*Plants with *Stars are considered biggest threats to the region
STINKNET *
TREE OF HEAVEN - (included in booklet but grows further north near Jerome/Globe)
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Picture This (free version has been my go-to but sometimes asks you to pay; can ID insects, tree rings, birds, more, 98% accuracy)
Seek from I-Naturalist (a popular go-to & very user-friendly, kid-safe, no logins)
I-Naturalist (share data, contribute to citizen science, connect w others)
Plantnet (citizen science platform)
Google Lens (good for cross-refence backup when uncertain of ID)
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Contribute to community science! Help with mapping, research and mitigation.
Stinknet.org (for Stinknet only)
Wild Spotter app (Limited species)
* PLEASE NOTE: I am not an expert and this is not a foraging guide or comprehensive list. It’s a growing resource guide.
Please do your own research and gather from credible sources, especially when it comes to consumption as there are often plant lookalikes that can be hazardous and toxic to consume or handle. Even edible and/or medicinal plants can be hazardous when misused. Check the list below to explore further.
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Make sure to properly identify as there are many lookalikes.
Don’t eat anything you cannot 100% identify or use.
Practice good intention and bring a decolonialized mindset
Offer something in its place: poem, plant, song, native seed
Don’t collect or consume anything you cannot identify or use
Removing native species can facilitate spreading invasives
Boot brush your tires & shoes when done to reduce spread
Unlike native plants, removal of these plants is encouraged
Limit seed and root spread through intentional handling
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CRAFT - Grassweaving Technique (may work for fountain grass)
CRAFT - Giant Reed - 8 Uses
FOOD - Falling Fruit - collaborative map of the urban harvest
FOOD - Native Food Guide (English & Espanol) - Desert Harvesters
FOOD - Firefly Forest
FOOD - The Forager’s Path
FOOD - Savor the Southwest
MEDICINE - Desert Tortoise Botanicals - John Slattery
MEDICINE/FOOD - SW Foraging & Medicinal Plants - Slattery
MEDICINE - Albuquerque Herbalism
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AZ Desert Museum: Zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden that provides education and conservation; co-organizes volunteer invasive species removal events.
AZ Native Plant Society: They promote knowledge, conservation and restoration of Arizona native plants and their habitats.
Borderlands Restoration Network: partner to grow a restorative economy by rebuilding healthy ecosystems, restoring habitat for plants and wildlife, and reconnecting border communities to the land through shared learning.
Central AZ Conservation Alliance (CAZCA): Collaborative, community science program focused on finding, mapping and removing invasive species at local parks and preserves.
Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection: Coalition of SW groups who seek to protect and restore the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona.
Native Seed Search: Nursery that educates and conserves and shares seeds of the SW.
Spadefoot Nursery: Local nursery featuring pesticide-free native and desert-hardy plants and knowledge.
SW Vegetation Management Assoc (SWVMA): fosters cooperation between vegetation managers and increase awareness about invasive vegetation.
Sonoran Desert Cooperative Weed Management Area (SDCWMA): prevention and management (including removal tips) of invasive plant species in Pima County.
Sonoran Institute Resource Guide: Invasive Plant Management in the Sonoran Desert
Transforming Terrain - Skillshare & Plant Workshops
Tucson Audubon: Invasive Education, Plant Mapping and Treatment
UofA Cooperative Extension: AZ invasive plant research.
Watershed Management Group (WMG): provides people with knowledge, skills and resources for sustainable livelihoods. Frequent monitoring of waterways and Giant Arundo removal.
INVASIVE.org: Database of Invasive species in North America.
US Dept of Agriculture: Field guides for managing invasive species.
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* Interested in sharing more about these plants and contributing to this resource page and/or the zine?
Seeking contributors that have interacted with these plants for craft, medicine, food, construction, science, etc. Email revoltaarttucson@gmail.com
upcoming events
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Buffelgrass removal
3rd Saturdays
2nd & 4th Wednesdays
7:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Location: A Mountain
Join Sonoran Desert Weedwackers to help remove buffelgrass in Tucson Mountain Park! Volunteers should be comfortable with strenuous work including hiking up hills and working off trail on rocky terrain. Snacks and drinks provided when we've finished.
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Giant Reed removal
Thursdays & Saturdays thru May
8:00-11:00AM
Location: Tanque Verde Creek/Wentworth Rd
Help protect and restore the beauty and flow of Tanque Verde Creek. We're inviting people of all ages and backgrounds to join this community effort.
Work alongside Watershed Management staff and River Run Network volunteers in a stunning riparian area to remove Arundo Donax (giant reed)—an invasive plant that drinks 3-4 times more water than native species, threatens wildlife habitat, and increases flood and fire risks.
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Pima County
Weekly Opportunities
Education
Stewardship
Community Science
Pima County Conservation Lands and Resources relies heavily on the generosity of volunteers who assist with public education and outreach, stewardship projects, and data taking. Below are some of the volunteer opportunities available.