• Visitors hike along the base of the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

    Gila Cliff Dwellings

    National Monument New Mexico

Plants

A photo of a bright purple common chockcherry ripening in the sun along a trail.

Common chokecherry

NPS Photo by Barry Nielsen

To view an interactive working plant list for Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and other surrounding southwest national parks, please visit the Southwest Environmental Information Network.

Some of the most common trees are Ponderosa pine, Gambel's oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper. Cactus are common, with the most frequently observed being prickly pear and cholla. Two abundant species, which many visitors have never seen and therefore frequently inquire about, are buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima, also known as coyote melon) and prickly poppy (Argemne platycepas).

If you would like a more complete list of plants common in this area, click to download "Common Plants in the Vicinity of Gila Cliff Dwellings".

Did You Know?

Signature of Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón

The ancient Puebloans of the area are often referred to as the "Mogollon people" by archeologists. This name was applied because of the nearby Mogollon Mountains. These mountains, in turn, were named for Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón, the Spanish Governor, from 1712 to 1715, of what is now New Mexico.