Part 4

26. DESERT PRINCESPLUME Mustard Family Stanleya pinnata

During the months of May and June this very conspicuous plant in Zion Canyon and throughout the Sonoran Zones may be found sending up its tall spikes of lemon-yellow flowers. On the same stalk can be found the ripened and opened seed pods (siliques), fresh-blooming flowers and unopened buds all at the same time. It has tall, stout stems, rather woody at the base, and differs from many plants in that it is tolerant of soils containing gypsum.

27. STONECROP Stonecrop Family Sedum stenopetalum

Found mostly in very dry, rocky soil, these small plants, with smooth, fleshy leaves and starry-yellow flowers, are fairly conspicuous as they bloom during the early summer months. These plants have the ability to store up moisture in their fleshy leaves and stems. They are, therefore, well adapted to withstanding long periods of drouth. The plants are sometimes gathered for treatment of certain ailments.

28. PRICKLYPOPPY Poppy Family Argemone platyceras

You can find this plant, with its large, white flowers, most frequently along the road cuts or in abandoned fields where it has taken over as a weed. Its showy display is most abundant during midsummer or in July and August. The large, white flower, with its conspicuous yellow center, is sometimes called “The Cowboy’s Fried Egg.” The prickly leaves and stems account for another common name, Thistlepoppy. The plants are drought resistant and unpalatable to livestock. The seeds contain a narcotic drug more potent than opium.

29. ROCKY MOUNTAIN BEEPLANT Caper Family Cleome serrulata

Along the roadsides of Southern Utah near these areas of Zion, Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks you may find this pleasing floral display of orchid or purple presented by fields of the Rocky Mountain Beeplant.

It is probably an exotic that has been brought in during recent years. Because of the unpleasant odor of crushed herbage, this plant is sometimes called skunk weed. The flowers are an important source of honey, and the seeds are eaten by a number of birds, especially the doves.

30. YELLOW SPIDERFLOWER Caper Family Cleome lutea

The plants of this genus are often called Beeplants. There are two species of Spiderflower in these areas. Yellow Spiderflower is not quite as common as the purplish-pink species commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Beeplant.

Both species are conspicuous roadside flowers in June and July. Although they are important sources of honey, they are not very sweet scented to humans. No doubt the odor helps attract insects to the flowers.

31. ELDER Honeysuckle Family Sambucus racemosa

This red-berried Elder is found the most abundantly at Cedar Breaks. It is also common along the highways through forested areas of the region.

The clusters of small white flowers that come on usually in June or July give way to bright-red berries in August and present a most attractive display.

Most Elders are edible and are eaten by birds and rodents. Some people gather the berries for wines and jellies. This species, however, is considered poisonous, and cases of poisoning have been reported from eating the berries, flowers, roots and bark.

The stalks of some Elders are pithy and fairly easily hollowed out. Indians used the stalks for making flutes.

32. LITTLELEAF MOUNTAINMAHOGANY Rose Family Cercocarpus intricatus

This low-growing shrub is fairly important as winter browse for deer and other browsing animals. The leathery leaves are evergreen, rather narrow, pointed at both ends and curled backwards from the sides. The flowers are very small and inconspicuous, but the fruits, with their long plumes, present an interesting display. The dead wood of this shrub is very useful to campers, as it burns with extremely hot flame and gives off very little smoke.

33. STANSBURY CLIFFROSE Rose Family Cowania stansburiana

In Zion this shrub is usually found at elevations above 4,000 feet, and it generally grows to be 6 to 8 feet high. During May and June its creamy-white flowers are suggestive of the Wild Rose. The habitat of the Cliffrose is the warm, dry slopes among the Pinyon and Juniper. Its twigs and evergreen leaves are browsed extensively by deer and other animals. The fragrance of this plant in bloom is remarkable and reminds one of Orange blossoms. The fruits are achenes and have pale, silky-haired tails 2 or more inches in length, which at times are very showy.

34. ANTELOPE BITTERBRUSH Rose Family Purshia tridentata

This shrub looks much like the Cliffrose, except for size. It is lower growing, has smaller pale-yellow flowers and its fruits are not plumed. The stubby, fan-shaped leaves are three pointed like those of the Big Sagebrush.

Bitterbrush is found most commonly on the warm, dry slopes above 4,000 feet, where it provides valuable year-round browse for deer and other animals. It is also known as Antelopebrush and Quininebush.

35. BLACKBRUSH Rose Family Colegyne ramosissima

A member of the Rose Family found mostly in the Sonoran Zones of Zion National Park. Several plants may be seen near the South Entrance Station. It is well named, as it has a burned and dead appearance during much of the year; however in late April and May it puts out minute grey-green leaves and creamy-yellow flowers made up of four sepals and no petals. The stamens are numerous. The Cliffrose, Bitterbrush and Mountain-mahogany are closely related to the Blackbrush.

36. BUSH CINQUEFOIL Rose Family Potentilla fruticosa

Found most commonly at Cedar Breaks, this member of the Rose Family puts on a very showy display for a brief period of the summer, generally in July or earlier at lower elevations. It is a shrub commonly 2 to 3 feet high with leaves that are five-parted, hence the name Cinquefoil. The shrub is often dotted all over with rose-like flowers, about an inch across, with clear-yellow petals and deeper yellow anthers. The plant is common in the mountains, across the continent, up to altitudes of 10,000 feet or more.