50. CREOSOTEBUSHCaltrop FamilyLarrea tridentata

Lewis Flax

Probably the most characteristic shrub of the arid valleys and mesas of the Southwest is the Creosotebush, which is sometimes erroneously called Greasewood.

At times this plant fills the air with a peculiar pungent aroma that gives rise to the common name Creosotebush. Mexicans call it “Hediondilla” the (Little Bad Smeller.)

A sticky resin on the leaves is used as a poultice for bruises and sores. A resinous gum or lac deposited by scale insects on the branches is used by the Indians as a cement for fixing arrow points and mending of pottery.

Creosotebush

This low-growing plant with abundant small, round or oval leaves and tiny white flowers is commonly called Carpetweed because of the manner in which it spreads over the ground.

Found mostly in the dry sandy soils, this plant serves as an excellent soil binder and is very helpful in preventing erosion.

The milky juice of this species is considered toxic and may cause dermatitis in susceptible persons. It is also known as Rattlesnake Feed and popularly supposed to be efficacious in treating snake bite.

Whitemargin Euphorbia

Very commonly found along the roadsides and especially prominent in the campgrounds or other disturbed areas. This member of the Mallow Family presents a lovely coral-red display as early as May, and it continues blooming throughout much of the summer.

Cotton belongs to this large and important family, which also contains such ornamental plants as the Hollyhock. Extensive fields of this flower present brilliant displays of orange.

Scarlet Globemallow

Found most commonly along the roads and trails, this member of the Mallow Family is known by a variety of common names such as: Rose of Sharon, False Mallow and Wild Hollyhock. It generally blooms in late summer, especially in the Cedar Breaks region. The plants sometimes grow to be 4 to 5 feet tall and have a great profusion of pink-colored flowers, really a very colorful and attractive display.

Desert Globemallow

This tall, willowy plant, called Fireweed, is frequently the first plant to come in after a forest fire. Its colorful bloom gives new life to the blackened ground. Fireweed is one of the world’s most widely disseminated wild flowers, being found throughout much of northern North America, Europe and parts of Asia. Its seeds are scattered by the wind. In these areas it is found mostly on the high plateaus.

Fireweed

In the rich soil of the Ponderosa Pine forest of the high plateaus you may occasionally see this peculiar plant called Pinedrops. It has a single reddish-brown stalk (no green parts at all) about a foot or two high, apparently without leaves (they are mere scales), and numerous round or bell-shaped blossoms or seed pods hanging from short stems. The stalk is generally sticky with a material much like the pitch of the pine trees. It is a parasite that lives on the roots of pine trees.

Woodland Pinedrops

There are five different species of Violets in Zion, two of them with yellow flowers and the others with white or purple. They are found blooming in May or June on the high plateaus or sometimes later in the wet meadows of Cedar Breaks or in shady canyons. Violets are closely related to the cultivated Pansies. The flowers are irregular, as one petal has a saclike spur which contains nectar. They have five sepals, five petals and five stamens. This species is found most commonly in the shady forest, while the purple and white species are more common in the very moist and cool areas of the shady canyons.

Yellow Violet

Blazingstars, sometimes called “Stickleaf” because of their rough, hairy leaves, are plants well suited to the drought conditions of this area, as they adapt well to dry, rocky soil. They are often found in roadside cuts or other newly disturbed soils and are found blooming usually in July and August. They are conspicuous with their yellow flowers consisting of five long petals and a large number of stamens almost as long as the petals that attract the eye as they blaze forth in the bright sunlight of midsummer. These plants are found mostly in the Transition Zone.

Desert Blazingstar

This family is well represented in Zion, where ten prominent species are found, six of which are illustrated in this booklet. This species is sometimes called the Cucumber Cactus. It is found blooming in bright-red clumps as early as April or on occasion in March when the winters are not severe. Its favorite habitat appears to be the rocky slopes of the lava fields below 5,000 feet.

As cactus flowers mature into fruit, they form bulb-like bodies called tunas. The fruits of this species are about an inch or more in diameter and serve as important food for many rodents.

A Hedgehog Cactus

Found mostly on the rocky slopes in the Lower Sonoran Zone, this cactus is fairly common and distinguished chiefly by its waxy and brilliantly colored purple flowers. The stems of this species are similar to those of the Cucumber Cactus except for being generally taller. The fruits are also similar, but the flowers differ as they are much larger and bright purple instead of red in color. They bloom generally during the month of May.

Purple Torch Cactus

The most common cactus in Zion is this species of the Prickly Pear. It is found in a great variety of habitats, even at the higher elevations. The flowers, large and spectacular in various shades of red, salmon or yellow, bloom late in May to July. Because of its long blooming season, this species is more often found in flower than any other cactus in the park. Its pear-shaped fruit, red to purple in color, is eaten by many animals as well as by the native peoples.

A Prickly Pear Cactus

One species of cactus that at first sight does not seem to be a cactus is the Beavertail, for it is lacking the long spines characteristic of most cacti. Upon close examination, however, you will find that it is protected by numerous, fine spines. The name of this species is derived from its flat stems shaped somewhat like a small beaver’s tail. The conspicuous magenta flowers mark this species as one of the most beautiful in the park. The fruit of this species is important as animal food, especially for chipmunks and ground squirrels.

Beavertail Cactus

The Cholla (pronounced Choya) Cactus is the only “tree” cactus found in Zion. It is fairly common in the Lower Sonoran Zone, especially in Coalpits Wash. Strangely enough this plant is a favorite nesting place of some desert birds, including sparrows, wrens and finches. The spreading branches seem to reach out and grab the careless hiker, and the barbed spines stick so fast in the flesh that the joint of the plant is separated from the main stem before the spines can be withdrawn. Cholla blossoms come in many shades of color with the accent on yellows and reds.

Buckhorn Cholla Cactus

As one of the largest of the flat-jointed or Pricklypear Cacti of Zion, this species is fairly abundant in Zion Canyon and is probably the most frequently observed species because of its dense growth in certain habitats and its fairly immense size as well as its colorful display of blossoms. It is locally called Elephant Ear Cactus. In June in produces large yellow flowers, very waxy in texture.

(SeeFigure 64for information concerning the fruit of this cactus.)

Engelmann Pricklypear Cactus

The fruit of the Engelmann Pricklypear Cactus is similar to the fruits of many other species of cacti; it is conspicuous, being deep red in color and about the size of a large Crab Apple. It is called Tuna or locally “Cactus Apple” and ripens as early as June but more abundantly during July.

Indians of the Southwest use this fruit as an important item of their diet. Many people living in the desert have come to learn that this cactus fruit makes excellent jellies and candies. It is also feasted upon by several rodents, especially the Antelope Ground Squirrel.

Cactus Fruit

A low, evergreen shrub with small, oval leaves that appear to have been painted with a thin coat of aluminum paint through which the green shows faintly. It is most common in the Upper Sonoran Zone and may be found along the Canyon Overlook and Emerald Pool Trails in Zion National Park.

The pale-yellow flowers, not much over ¼ inch across, are often hidden by the leaves. They bloom early in April or sometimes in March. The fruit of a similar shrub has a tart berry that was gathered by the early pioneers and used as a sauce on Buffalo steaks, hence the name Buffaloberry.

Roundleaf Buffaloberry

This member of the Evening-primrose Family, with its fragrant, large white flowers, bloom early in the evening and lasts only a few hours the next day, as it turns pink and wilts.

The flowers grow close to the ground on stemless plants. They have long, slender and hairy calyx tubes that resemble stems. This plant is found mostly in very rocky and dry habitats, which are often devoid of all other plants.

White Evening-primrose

You will find this plant most commonly in the road cuts or in places where the soil has been disturbed. This species and other members of this family have very showy flowers with four broad, thin petals. Generally they bloom at night but sometimes in the daytime if growing in deep shade.

The Evening-primroses are among the comparatively few flowers blooming in Zion Canyon during the heat of midsummer, and many of them are usually found on sandy or rocky soil in the Upper Sonoran Zone.

Yellow Evening-primrose

Locally called “Wild Parsley,” this fairly tall plant, with its fernlike leaves, is very common at Cedar Breaks National Monument. It grows at very high elevations. Other plants in this family, useful as food, are the carrot, parsnip, dill and anise. However, one member of the family, the Water Hemlock, is very poisonous.

Porter Ligusticum

Many people are attracted to this plant by its bright mahogany-red bark. Its oval-shaped leaves are a bright green throughout the year. The flowers grow in clusters and sometimes are very numerous on the shrub. The fruit resembles a tiny apple, and the name Manzanita is Spanish for “Little Apple.” Indians use the berries for food and for making a pleasant, sour drink.

Greenleaf Manzanita

Found in the open meadows of the Cedar Breaks highlands and on the high plateaus of Zion and Bryce Canyon. The tall stalks, with their intermixture of pale-green leaves and similarly colored flowers, present a rather conspicuous sight as they tower to heights of 5 feet. The flowers have four sepals and four petals and nectar glands that attract many insects. The petals are flecked with brown and purple.

Green Gentian

This outstanding member of the Primrose Family is found only at high elevations, generally above 10,000 feet. In this region it grows fairly abundantly on Brian Head Peak but is found sparingly at Cedar Breaks. Its brilliant display of rose-red flowers is a remarkable and rewarding sight for those who gain the high places and see this alpine beauty. The smooth, thick leaves, which are quite long, all grow in a rosette at the base of the plant. The fragrance of this flower is disappointing, for it does not match its splendid color.

Parry Primrose

As the snow melts on the plateaus, at elevations above 7,000 feet, you may find one of the very first flowers of spring. This member of the Parsnip Family often carpets the alpine meadows with a mass of tiny white flowers never more than an inch or two high.

The root bulb was eaten by the Indians and gives rise to the common name Indianpotato. Another common name is Salt and Pepper Plant because of the speckled appearance of the flowers.

The blooming period of this plant is very brief, and soon after the flowers have faded the leaves disappear and the plant lies dormant during most of the year.

Indianpotato

Shootingstars are one of the early blooming flowers in the alpine meadows of Cedar Breaks and on the high plateaus. They also come on very early in the moist canyons of Zion. Along with the Columbine and Monkeyflower they are the predominant plants of the Hanging Gardens found on many of the Canyon Walls.

The basal leaves spread close to the ground, while the flowers in a variety of colors, white, pink or purple grow on stems 6 to 8 inches high. The down-pointed stamens of the flower center and the reflexed or turned-back petals gives the flower its common name Shootingstar.

Shootingstar

One of the most beautiful of all mountain flowers, the Fringed Gentian is commonly found in the moist meadows of Cedar Breaks at elevations near or above 10,500 feet. The flower stalks are generally 6 to 10 inches tall, and each bears a handsome flower about two inches long with four fringed petals. At times the Fringed Gentian carpets the alpine meadows with a waving mass of deep-blue color. This species is the Park Flower of Yellowstone National Park.

Fringed Gentian

There are four fairly common species of Milkweed in Zion, but the one pictured is the most common. This variety is found in the dry places above 4,000 feet and is especially abundant in Birch Creek Canyon.

The conspicuous orange flowers grow on fairly tall stalks about two feet in height and make this plant very easy to find. The stems are quite hairy, leafy and contain a milky juice. As the fruits develop in large boat-shaped pods, the seeds burst forth bearing long, silky hairs that assist the wind in scattering them over wide areas.

Butterfly Milkweed

Four kinds of phlox are common in Zion, and other species are found at Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon. The plants are generally small, but the flowers are fairly showy with their five bright, pink-colored petals. They are found generally in dry, rocky soils and bloom mostly in early summer or during May and June. Sometimes Phlox will cover extensive areas with a bright carpet of pink or white. A special display of Phlox may be found on the summit of Brian Head Peak near Cedar Breaks. These plants are very helpful in holding the soil and in preventing erosion.

Pink Phlox

This plant is found most commonly in the Ponderosa Pine belt of these areas where its star-shaped, scarlet flower adds a bit of brilliance to the scene. The individual flowers, with their long, tubular corollas and star-shaped petals, are masterpieces of beauty. Their shape and color have given rise to such common names as Trumpet Phlox and Scarlet Gilia.

In their search for nectar, hummingbirds are noticeably attracted to the flowers of the plant. Birds and insects in taking the nectar, help in the pollination of many flowers.

Skyrocket Gilia

A fairly tall perennial growing to be from 2 to 3 feet high and found only in moist places at high elevations of the plateaus. It is common at and near Cedar Breaks along the streams or in the swampy meadows. The small clusters of drooping, delicate-blue flowers come mostly in May and June or even later at the higher elevations of Brian Head Peak near Cedar Breaks. Before maturing the flowers may be pinkish to white in color.

Mountain Bluebells

This member of the Borage Family is well adapted to the dry habitats. The plants are commonly found in clumps, but they are generally widely scattered rather than in dense growths as in the case of the Bluebells or Mertensias that belong to the same Family. Its showy trumpetlike yellow flowers attract many insects as they bloom during April and May. The seeds are hard, white and shiny, hence the name Lithospermum, meaning stone seed.

Narrowleaf Puccoon

Although looking very much like a clump of Sagebrush, this small shrub is a member of the Mint Family and not closely related to the Common Sagebrush. The clusters of bright purple flowers, as they come on in May or June, certainly add brilliant adornment to this sage-green plant. It is fairly common in the Sonoran Zones and well scattered throughout much of the Southwest. This is the plant referred to in the storied Land of the Purple Sage. One of the best places to look for this plant is along the Emerald Pool Trail in Zion National Park.

Desert Sage

This rather unusual-appearing plant is not a native but rather an introduced species from Europe that has spread over most of Western America. It is fairly common along the roads and trails.

The Hopi Indians are said to dry and smoke the leaves, and this is thought to cure people who are mentally unbalanced.

Early Greeks and Romans dipped dried mullein stalks in tallow to make lampwicks. The English named it “Torchweed” and the Spanish called it “Candelaria.”

Mullein

This species, also known as Purple Penstemon, is found in much the same habitats as the Blue Penstemon. It is generally abundant along roadsides at elevations above 4,500 feet. It is fairly common at Cedar Breaks and at Bryce Canyon. The flowers vary in color from deep blue to dark purple, and the stalks vary in height from 12 to 20 inches.

Royal Penstemon

Found mostly in the cool canyons, this plant is sometimes confused with the Skyrocket Gilia or the Western Cardinalflower, which it resembles somewhat. Penstemon usually has a greater number of blooms on each flower stalk than do these flowers that appear like it. This variety is not nearly as common as many other Penstemons in these areas. It is far more brilliantly colored, however, which accounts for such common names as Scarlet Bugler and Scarlet Penstemon.

Eaton Penstemon

The penstemons are sometimes called Wild Snapdragons because of the close resemblance to related cultivated species. They are also called Beardstongue because one of the five stamens is covered with numerous hairs. This blue variety, Thickleaf Penstemon, is found mostly at higher elevations or on the plateaus where they bloom during June and July.

Thickleaf Penstemon

This is one of the very beautiful and conspicuous flowers of Zion National Park. The flowers are borne on tall spikes and are brightly colored. This is the largest and most common Penstemon found along the trails and roadways of Zion below 6,000 feet. It is especially common in freshly disturbed soils as the road cuts. The leaves are grey-green, and each pair with the exception of the lower ones is joined at the base, creating the impression that it is one leaf with the stem growing through the center. The fairly large flowers, which are pale lavender in color, begin blooming in May and are found in bloom throughout most of the summer.

Palmer Penstemon

A conspicuous plant with very large, white, sometimes lavender-tinted flowers that open at night and wilt in the bright morning sunlight. A single plant may have as many as 100 blooms at one time. Datura is one of the few plants that blooms during the hot summer in Zion Canyon. Many different names are locally applied to it, and include the following: Zion Lily, Moon Lily, Jimson Weed and Thornapple. The plant is poisonous to eat, especially the seeds, and was used by several Indian tribes to induce stupor and dreams as a part of a widespread religious cult. It contains a deadly narcotic principle akin to atropine.

Sacred Datura

One of the very beautiful flowering plants along the Zion Narrows Trail and in cool, damp places of the shady canyons is this Crimson Monkeyflower with its orange-red blossoms and deep-green leaves. Its flowers are 1 to 2 inches long and the wide-toothed leaves are 3 to 5 inches long. It is the largest Monkeyflower in the park. Some plants are found blooming throughout much of the summer season, especially along the canyon walls where there are seeps of water most of the year.

Monkeyflower

From early March until May the warm hillsides below 6,000 feet are made brilliant by clumps of deep-red flowers often found next to patches of Mountain Mahogany. They are the Dwarf Indian Paintbrush and are by far the most conspicuous early spring flower in Zion. Found very abundantly along the park road from the East Entrance to the Zion Tunnel, they present a most pleasing sight early in the season. Other species are very plentiful at Cedar Breaks and often carpet the meadows in showy orange or red. Several species are also found at Bryce Canyon National Park.

Indian Paintbrush

This low, spreading shrub is recognized by its shreddy bark, small, oval, opposite leaves on very short petioles, and in late summer or fall by its white berries. The small, pinkish flowers are not at all conspicuous and are often overlooked. The plant is browsed by deer and other animals and is sometimes called Buckbrush. It is found mostly in the high plateaus of Zion and is fairly common at Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon. The fruit, although very showy, is not very tasty.

Snowberry

This member of the Honeysuckle Family has a number of common names such as Twinberry Honeysuckle, Ink-berry and Pigeon-bush.

The flowers, which are yellow and always come in pairs, are very attractive to the hummingbirds. Mature fruits are black berries about the size of peas and are partially enclosed by reddish bracts. The plants are unpalatable and browsed very slightly, but the fruits are eaten by birds and chipmunks.

Bearberry Honeysuckle

You will find this strange-looking plant in the wet meadows of the alpine areas of Cedar Breaks and on the Plateaus of the Kolob Section and the Horse Pasture Plateau of Zion National Park. Its blooming season is July and August. The peculiarly modified petals of the corolla resemble the forehead, ears and waving trunk of an elephant, hence the common name Elephanthead.

Elephanthead Pedicularis

In the drier habitats of the alpine regions around Cedar Breaks and generally along the roadsides in large clumps you may find this beautiful blue flower. The lovely deep-blue flowers, drooping on their hairlike stems, have such perfect shape and simple grace. The Harebell is very wide spread, being found in Scotland, Northern Europe and Asia as well as over much of North America.

American Harebell

A pleasant surprise to many park visitors is to find this spectacular flower, with its abundant scarlet blooms on long stalks, presenting a colorful display during the late summer when most plants have ceased blooming. This colorful species, known also as Scarlet Lobelia, is very abundant along the Narrows Trail of Zion Canyon and also along water courses of other shady canyons. The long, tubular corollas and pointed petals arranged in irregular pattern of two and three identify this plant from the Scarlet Penstemon which it resembles.

Western Cardinalflower

Rabbitbrush is fairly common along roadways and trails in the arid regions. Because rabbits find this plant a favorite shelter, it has been named Rabbitbrush. Indians boil the plant for yellow dye, and white man found certain species of Chrysothamnus to contain rubber.

Consideration was given to the production of rubber from Rabbitbrush during the First World War and up until the discovery of synthetic rubber.

Rabbitbrush

An exotic plant probably brought into the area by vehicles, as it is found most commonly along the roadways or in cultivated fields. Once started it spreads very rapidly along the highways or in cultivated areas.

The plant is suspected to be toxic to livestock, but is rarely eaten. It is used in the treatment of asthma in humans. In addition, external use is made of it to relieve the irritation caused by Poison Ivy.

The plants have probably migrated to this area from the central plains states.

Curlycup Gumweed

The Asters and Fleabanes are sometimes confused, but they can generally be recognized by the difference in the number of ray flowers. That is, Asters have only about half as many ray flowers as do the Fleabanes.

Species of Purple Aster form an important part of the late summer floral display at Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon. They come on after the Lupine, Columbine, Indian Paintbrush and other early bloomers have faded.

Purple Aster

There are numerous species of Fleabane in this region. Some particular kind may be found at any time of the growing season, for certain species bloom very early and others continue late in autumn.

Some species of Fleabane grow in dense masses and, in early spring, carpet the meadows and roadsides. The ray flowers of the Fleabanes are generally twice as numerous per head as are the ray flowers of the Asters. The plants are quite similar in other respects.

Fleabane

Sunflowers abound in these parks during the late summer. As the early summer flowers, mostly in blues and purples, fade, the yellow and red flowers come on. This is especially true in the alpine meadows of Cedar Breaks in August when the predominant species are the Sunflowers.

The seeds of the Sunflowers supply abundant food for many birds and small mammals.

Mountain Sunflower

The very large flowers of these plants sometimes present a colorful display as they take over the roadways or abandoned fields. Members of this group are generally considered weeds because of their habit of crowding out the more desirable species. Certain species of Sunflowers are now being developed for commercial purposes and produce oil for cooking and meal for livestock feed. Indians in some areas of North America cultivated sunflowers for food and for trade.

Common Sunflower

This handsome and conspicuous plant is found growing in the Sonoran Zones of Zion. It has a slender, rough stalk, about a foot tall, and stiff, rather hairy, dull-green leaves growing mostly from the root. The beautiful flowers, about three inches across, have golden-yellow rays which are three pointed. The center of the flower is a shaded maroon and yellow, very velvety, and becoming an attractive fuzzy, round, purplish head when the rays drop off. This plant blooms mostly in May and June.

Gaillardia

These golden-yellow flowers, measuring about three inches across, are fairly common along the trails and roadways of Zion Canyon and in other low-elevation areas of the park. They bloom during May and June. The ray flowers become bleached and papery as they mature, thus accounting for the name Paper Daisy. This attractive composite is also known as Desert Baileya. In California this plant is cultivated for the flower trade. It has been found poisonous to sheep, although horses crop the flower heads, apparently without harmful effects.

Desert Marigold

Western Yarrow is very widespread and can be found in much of Western America. It is more common at elevations above 5,000 feet in these areas. It grows to be 12 to 20 inches high, and the fernlike leaves, which have a pungent odor when crushed, and the umbrella-shaped clusters of flowers are characteristics of this plant that help to identify it.

Since ancient times the plant has been highly regarded for its healing properties. Legend ascribed the discovery of this virtue to Achilles, in whose honor the plant is named.

Western Yarrow

A common flower in the Pine and Spruce forest of Cedar Breaks and the alpine areas of Zion and Bryce Canyon is the Heartleaf Arnica. The yellow ray flowers are few, while the disk or central flowers of the flower head are numerous. The flowers measure about three inches across and are often mistaken for sunflowers. The heart-shaped leaves help distinguish this flower from its close relatives.

Tincture of arnica is obtained from certain species of Arnica.

Heartleaf Arnica

This interesting plant, known also as Oyster Plant, has been naturalized from Europe and is now quite common in the West. It has a smooth, stout hollow stem about 2 feet tall, rather dark-green, smooth leaves clasping at the base, and handsome flowers from 2 to 4 inches across. The flowers open early in the morning, closing at midday, to remain closed until the next morning.

Meadow Salsify is most commonly found along the roadways or in other places where the native soil has been disturbed.

SeeFigure 105for description of the seed of this flower.

Meadow Salsify

This habitat view of the Meadow Salsify illustrates one of the important ways in which plants scatter their seeds about. As the flower matures into seeds in a conspicuous and very large, dandelion-like head, each seed is equipped with a perfect parachute of silky fibers. Winds often sweep these flight-equipped seeds for many miles and result in wide dissemination of this species, which was introduced into this country from Europe not very long ago.

The seeds of many plants are scattered about in various ways—some by wind, others by water and many by the birds and animals.

Meadow Salsify Fruit

This plant, with its large, showy yellow flowers, is often found on the southern exposures of steep hillsides or in the Sagebrush flats. It was first discovered by Lewis and Clark on their expedition across the continent in 1804-1806.

The rind of the root contains a turpentiny balsam, but the heart of the root is edible and was used by the Indians and early pioneers. The plant is called Mormon Biscuit in Utah. The seeds of the plant were used by the Indians to make “Pinole” or meal, and the stems and leaves were eaten as greens.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

There are two kinds of Wallflowers in Zion National Park. Their bright-yellow flowers, which grow on stalks taller than those of most other mustards, make them among the most attractive members of this family. They are usually found on rather dry slopes in the Upper Sonoran and Transition Zones.

Notice how the petals are arranged as a cross which is a characteristic of all members of the Cruciferae or Mustard Family.

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