Monte Desert not only common, but tall cacti even appear in the more hospitable areas of the desert. The fauna of the area is also very similar to that of the Patagonian Desert, only in greater diversity and number due to the Monte's more hospitable conditions. Small mammals like mice abound and larger animals like the guanaco and burrowing owl can be found as well. Monte Desert The Monte Desert is a South American ecoregion, lying entirely within Argentina and covering approximately the submontane areas of Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza Provinces, plus the western half of La
Dicentra formosa on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Subsp. "oregana" grows in a small area of southern Oregon and northern California in serpentine soils in the Siskiyou Mountains. These subspecies are also distinguished by appearance: "Dicentra formosa" is widely grown as a garden plant, and several cultivars have been developed. Those marked have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: There are several hybrid cultivars involving "D. formosa", the eastern American species "D. eximia" and the Japanese species "D. peregrina": The Pacific bleeding-heart ("Dicentra formosa" subsp. "formosa") was first noted by Europeans when the Scottish surgeon and naturalist