Part 5

37. PRAIRIESMOKE Rose Family Geum triflorum var. ciliatum

This graceful plant, with its nodding, bell-shaped, pink-colored flowers, is found fairly abundantly in the alpine meadows of Cedar Breaks National Monument.

The plant has a number of common names such as: China Bells, Oldman-Whiskers, and Grandfather’s-beard. The silvery, plumose tails of the fruit present an attractive display, especially as the sun’s rays light the waving plumes in late afternoon or early morning.

Prairiesmoke plants are considered good forage for several animals, and the bumblebees gather its pollen for honey.

38. WILD ROSE Rose Family Rosa sp.

There are two species of the Wild Rose in Zion and two other species in Bryce Canyon, three of which are found at Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Wild Roses are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere and are too familiar to need much description. The flowers are fairly fragrant and have bright-pink petals with a large cluster of yellow stamens. The fruit of the rose, shaped like a small apple, turns a deep-red color late in the season and adds beauty to this plant during autumn.

39. SERVICEBERRY Rose Family Amelanchier alnifolia

One of the very early blooming shrubs or small trees in Zion Canyon, and often seen in March or April as conspicuous white masses on the canyon walls among the Pinyon and Juniper trees, is the Serviceberry.

The white flowers occur in clusters and look much like a fruit tree in bloom. The berry is shaped like a very small apple, insipid to the taste, but nevertheless used extensively by the Indians and early settlers for food. The plant has a variety of common names, including the following: Juneberry, Shadbush, Saskatoon, Sarviceberry and Pigeonberry.

40. CHOKECHERRY Rose Family Prunus virginiana

Chokecherry bushes or small trees are fairly common at elevations around 6,000 feet in these areas. Early in May, and sometimes even earlier, the white and fragrant blossoms present a pleasing sight. In July or August the ripened cherries supply food for humans, many birds and small animals.

The first autumn colors are often the Chokecherry leaves as they turn scarlet, brown and red.

These shrubs are browsed heavily by cattle and some by deer, especially if other forage is scarce.

41. HONEY MESQUITE Pea Family Prosopis juliflora

A low-growing tree of the Lower Sonoran Zone. Uncommon in Zion but fairly abundant in the desert area adjacent to the park. In early spring during March and April bright-green leaves cover the tree, and often it is laden with catkinlike clusters of greenish-yellow flowers, which attract myriads of insects including the honey bees.

The wood of this tree was used extensively by early settlers for fuel, building corrals and in making furniture and utensils. The fruit of the Mesquite, resembling a string bean, is used for food by many animals. Indians also made wide use of it by grinding the beans into a meal called “Pinole.”

42. LUPINE Pea Family Lupinus sp.

There are so many varieties of Lupine that it is most difficult to identify the numerous species. In this area they are found abundantly on the high plateaus, being especially plentiful at Cedar Breaks, where they fill whole meadows with a mass of blue color in midsummer.

The Lupines range in color from pale pink to deep purple, with some white, cream or yellow, but most of them are blue. Like other plants of the Pea Family, Lupines add nitrogen to the soil and thereby improve the land on which they grow. The seeds of a few species contain alkaloids which are poisonous to livestock, especially sheep.

43. LOCO Pea Family Astragalus sp.

This very large genus of plants ranges from the hottest parts of the desert to high mountain peaks and far to the North. More than a dozen species are found in the Zion Region.

Some of the species contain a poisonous constituent causing, the often fatal, loco disease of livestock, particularly in horses.

Loco is a Spanish word meaning “Crazy.” Other species known as Poisonvetch, prefer soils rich in selenium, and take up enough of that toxic mineral to make them poisonous to livestock, especially sheep. The harmless species are called Milkvetch.

Nearly all the species are colorful and spectacular when in blossom, but some of them have a rank, disagreeable odor.

44. POISONVETCH Pea Family Astragalus sabulonum

This showy species of Astragalus is locally called Rattleweed because, when it is in fruit, its large, bladder-like, thin-walled pods become very brittle and give a distinct rattling sound when shaken. The pods are about one and a half inches long and heavily mottled reddish-brown in color.

The genus of Astragalus has been divided into three groups: Loco, Milkvetch and Poisonvetch. The species poisonous to livestock are commonly called Loco Weeds.