Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Celastraceae, Bittersweet or Stiff Vine Family

Celastraceae is called the Bittersweet Family or less common name the Stiff Vine Family. This family is made up of vines, shrubs and small trees. Celastraceae belongs to the order Celastrales.

There are about 78 genera and 983 species.

References:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database – ITIS search
The Plant List. A working list of all known plant species. [accessed 17 February 2015]
http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Celastraceae/
Wikipedia contributors, 'Celastraceae', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 January 2015, 19:02 UTC, [accessed 17 February 2015]
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database – ITIS search