Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

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

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Cornaceae, Dogwood Family

The Cornaceae family is also commonly called the Dogwood Family. This family contains only 10 genera and 115 accepted specie names. Members of this family are typically trees and shrubs, evergreen or deciduous. Simple leaves are either opposite or alternate. Flowers or mostly clusterd in infloresceces or pseudanthia. Fruits mostly drupes.

This relatively small family is most noted for Dogwoods (Cornus) and the Black Gum or Pepperidge Tree (Tupelos) of the genus Nyssa.

References:
The Plant List, a working list of all plant species, an on-line resource at http://www.theplantlist.org/, (accessed 04/02/2015)
http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Cornaceae/
Wikipedia contributors, 'Cornaceae', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 March 2014, 14:50 UTC,
[accessed 2 April 2015]
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database – ITIS search