House of The Velvet Ash

Like other riparian trees of the desert, velvet ash is NOT adapted to an arid climate at all since the leaves have no mechanisms to prevent water loss. If the roots did not have access to permanent moisture, the trees would quickly die. This stream-side habitat represents a final retreat for velvet ash and certain other riparian trees. Several million years ago, during the Tertiary epoch, the region's climate was substantially moister than now. Velvet ash, Fremont cottonwood, netleaf hackberry and Arizona sycamore belonged to a great deciduous forest that blanketed the valleys and hills. Now, forced to survive under extreme conditions, velvet ash is restricted to riversides and stream-beds. This photo was taken along the West Fork of Oak Creek Trail north of Sedona, Arizona.