Part 9

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.

77. SKYROCKET GILIA Phlox Family Gilia aggregata

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.

78. MOUNTAIN BLUEBELLS Borage Family Mertensia ciliata

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.

79. NARROWLEAF PUCCOON Borage Family Lithospermum incisum

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.

80. DESERT SAGE Mint Family Salvia carnosa

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.

81. MULLEIN Figwort Family Verbascum thapsus

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.”

82. ROYAL PENSTEMON Figwort Family Penstemon speciosus

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.

83. EATON PENSTEMON Figwort Family Penstemon eatoni

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.

84. THICKLEAF PENSTEMON Figwort Family Penstemon pachyphyllus

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.

85. PALMER PENSTEMON Figwort Family Penstemon palmeri

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.

86. SACRED DATURA Potato Family Datura meteloides

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.

87. MONKEYFLOWER Figwort Family Mimulus cardinalis

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.

88. INDIAN PAINTBRUSH Figwort Family Castilleja coccinea

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.