Arizona Illustrated

Tucson Bee Collaborative The Sonoran Desert is thought to be home to the greatest bee diversity in the world. Bees are critical to our ecosystem, and many species have yet to be studied or even identified. The Tucson Bee Collaborative is a partnership effort to increase awareness of Tucson s bees, and to empower future scientists by engaging them in real world research. Blue Lotus Gallery Blue Lotus, a water lily that is native to North Africa, grows along the Nile. In ancient Egypt, it symbolized the triumph of wisdom over suffering. In Tucson it symbolizes the Blue Lotus Artists Collective. The president of the board and the gallery Laura Pendleton Miller says, Like the Blue Lotus, Black artists have risen from harsh environments to bring beauty to the world.” The gallery had its soft opening last spring and will have its official opening on November 3rd, 2023. Theodore Buchholz - Cellist Theodore Buchholz is the Associate Professor of Cello at University of Arizona’s Fred Fox School of Music. In this elegant performance of a piece composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, he explains his intimate relationship with the cello and what life lessons can be found in learning to play an instrument. Desert Plants: Desert Fern As part of the recurring series about recommended plants for our region, we hear about the desert fern, also known as feather bush, feather tree or tepehuaje in Mexico (Lysiloma watsonii) which is a tree in the legume family that normally can reach heights of about 25 feet and 15 feet wide. It is typically found in the warmer habitats of Arizona and Sonora into northern Sinaloa in Mexico. The tree gets its name from the lush, soft leaves that give it a tropical appearance in landscape settings under the right conditions.