National Park Service Smallflower globemallow f~~) Threadleaf snakeweed Banana yucca Watch for a small spring (damp area) on your Pallid hoptree Continue down the switchbacks through the Munz's bedstraw U.S. Department of the Interior Sphaeralcea parvifolia - Malvaceae Gutierrezia microcephala - Asteraceae Yucca baccata - Agavaceae right, Kolb Seep, with a switchback to the left. Ptelea trifoliata - Rutaceae Coconino Sandstone cliffs. Galium munzii - Rubiaceae Grand Canyon National Park Perennial forb, whitish Small perennial shrub with Succulent perennial with a Tree to 20 ft / 6 m tall with white Skunkbush Perennial shrub with Arizona green and hairy. Leaves many slender, erect, yellow- rosette of long, wide, spine- Cliff fendlerbush stems. Alternate leaves in groups Rhus trilobata - Anacardiaceae slender, wiry branches, to 2 fan-shaped, lobed, green branches and small, tipped leaves with fibers Fendlera rupicola - Hydrangeaceae of 3 leaflets. Bunches of greenish ft/60 cm tall. Leaves attach Deciduous shrub with coarsely toothed. Orange narrow leaves. Produces coming off the leaf edges. white flowers with 4 petals; to branches in groups of Shrub to 7 ft/2 m tall with straight, opposite leaves divided into 5-petaled flowers many small, yellow flowers Flower stalks with large cream- Maytojune. Seeds, surrounded four. Small, red flowers vertical stems and shaggy bark. three lobed leaflets. Dense, What's That Plant? with yellow centers; June to October. Like the colored flowers in spring, by a papery wing, hang down. emerge June to October. Leaves paired, narrow, thick, and spike-like, yellowish flowers June to August. larger rabbitbrush, this common plant is prominent followed by fleshy, banana- Look for the groups of four leaves slightly rolled under. Flowers April to June, followed by red A guide for identifying plants along in the late summer and fall when it is covered by shaped capsules. If you hold the leaves up to the radiating from the stem. This species cover the plant May to July with 4 fruit. Flowers appear before' Globemallow, widespread throughout yellow flowers. Sheepherders applied a poultice of light, you will see hundreds of of bedstraw, found only in Arizona, the Bright Angel Trail from the rim separated white petals, followed by the leaves emerge in spring. the West, thrives in dry, sunny areas. Its snakeweed to treat snakebit sheep. Yucca flowers can be pollinated only by yucca moths, tiny spots, glands filled with oily compounds that emit prefers rocky habitats. to Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse small, acorn-like fruits. Glandular hairs cover the sticky berries, giving them a leaves and flowers can be made into a which lay their eggs in the flowers. Moth larvae eat a citrus odor when crushed. Ancient hunters made a sweet-sour taste. Pioneers made the berries into a tart, tea to promote calmness. The hairs on the foliage can Reach a switchback turning to the right and only yucca seeds. Thus, each species is dependent poison for arrows from the leaves. These shrubs grow in rocky areas; tasty lemonade bestowing another name: lemonade- Fragrant ash irritate the skin and eyes of livestock, giving rise to start down "Heartbreak Hill." upon the other. Yucca provided Native Americans the Latin name rupicola means Fraxinus cuspidata - Oleaceae another common name, sore-eye poppy. with food, fiber, and shampoo. While walking down the switchbacks below the berry. rock-dweller. A profusion of sweet- second tunnel, watch for a century plant perched Small tree to 23 ft/ 7 m tall with Utah juniper smelling flowers attracts attention on the cliff. Please observe it from the trail. Creeping barberry [~~1 gray, fissured trunk. Opposite leaves CI iff rose a Juniperus osteosperma - Cupressaceae Arizona thistle in spring. Native peoples used the Mahonia repens - Berberidaceae in groups of 3 to 7 narrow leaflets. Purshia stansburiana - Rosaceae Cirsium arizonicum - Asteraceae straight, smooth branches to make Loose, white flowers with long petals Short tree to 20 ft/6 m tall. Century plant Low, creeping evergreen shrub. Evergreen shrub to 8 ft/2.5 arrows, planting sticks, and awls. droop from stems April to June and Crooked, twisted trunks with Perennial forb with one to several Agave utahensis - Agavaceae Dark green, leathery, holly-like m tall with shaggy bark. mature into winged seeds. shaggy bark. Needles are scale­ erect stems. Sharp spines cover A succulent perennial; a rosette of leaves with spiny teeth along Leaves wedge-shaped, lobed, like. A blue-gray wax coats the the leaves and base of flower. thick, spine-tipped leaves with sharp the edge. Yellow flowers with and curled under at the end. This ash differs from others in that berry-like female cones. Purple flower heads emerge from Halfway between Kolb Seep and the second teeth along leaf edges. Flower stalk 6 petals April to June, followed Flowers cream-colored with it has fragrant flowers with petals. Used by Native spiny bracts May to October. tunnel, you may spy a prickly pear growing grows in a few weeks to 20 ft / 6 m by blue berries. 5 petals. Fruits sport 4 to 10 Americans to make bows and arrow shafts. Pinyon-juniper forests cover from a crack in the rock wall above you. Can tall; covered with yellow flowers feathery plumes. millions of acres in the More than a dozen species of you find it? May to July. Barberry's stems trail along the ground. Many Navajo fleabane Southwest. Birds and coyotes eat the thistle occur in Arizona. This mammals and birds feed on the berries, although Cliffrose leaves are bitter tasting, leading to the name Erigeron concinnus - Asteraceae berries and deposit the encased seed species is native, but others are The century plant grows for 20 to 40 people may find them dry and tasteless. The Navajo quinine-bush; yet, many animals browse on it. The in their droppings, helping disperse exotic and highly invasive. Hummingbirds and many Prickly pear years. One spring it will rapidly sprout use the plant to treat scorpion bites. Steep the roots Perennial forb. Leaves branches were fashioned into arrow shafts and the the plant. Junipers provide fuel, building material, insects feed on the flower's nectar. Opuntia sp. - Cactaceae a huge flowering stalk, after which for a laxative tea. alternate, hairy, long, and shaggy bark lined Navajo and Hopi cradleboards. medicine, food, and ceremonial items for Native the entire plant dies. The agave has narrow. Seed heads also Cactus with flat pads covered Americans. provided Native Americans food, At the bottom of the Coconino switchbacks, covered with hairs. Flowers Douglas fir with spines. Large yellow, fiber, and medicine for centuries. traverse along the Hermit shale slope. April to October; many white Indian ricegrass Pseudotsuga menziesii - Pinaceae pink, or red flowers emerge petals with a large yellow Achnatherum hymenoides - Poaceae Fremont barberry Evergreen tree to 130 ft/40 m May to June. Oval, red, fleshy center. Perennial bunchgrass with Mahonia fremontii - Berberidaceae tall, tapering to a point, with fruits, called tunas, ripen below Beechleaf frangula Miner's lettuce The fine hairs give this narrow leaves as long as the drooping branches. Short, flat the flowers. Many species of Frangula betulifolia - Rutaceae Claytonia perfoliata - Portulacaceae Evergreen shrub to 10 ft/3 m fleabane a fuzzy appearance. The word fleabane stem. Large seeds on the ends of needles. Small cones hang down prickly pear thrive from rim to tall. Alternate leaves with thick, Deciduous shrub to 8 ft/2.5 Annual forb with many derives from using this plant to keep away fleas and slender, openly branched stalks; from branches with bracts river—some with long spines, gray-green leaflets have spiny tips. m tall. Large, prominently spreading stems. Two types other insects. May to August. Yellow 6-petaled flowers appear protruding between cone scales. others with no spines; pad size veined leaves with tiny teeth of leaves—long, narrow April to July, followed by bluish- and color varies. At the base of each group of spines along the edge. Small greenish leaves near the ground, Congratulations on reaching Mile-and-a-Half The large seeds at the ends of the black berries. In spite of its name, Douglas fir is not a true fir—cones are tiny tan spines termed glochids. No matter the flowers Maytojune. Round and fleshy, circular leaves Resthouse. After resting, while hiking back clumped grasses give them a lacy on firs are upright and disintegrate before falling. size of the spines, they hurt, so keep your distance. berries turn purple in the fall. surrounding small, white to the rim, revisit the plants you learned. Can appearance. The seeds, easy to The sharp-tipped leaves deliver a painful poke. Birds Look for the cones with bracts or "mouse tails" People eat the tunas raw or cooked into jellies, and flowers. The circular, flower- you find any plants not listed in this guide? harvest, are very nutritious. Native Americans roasted and small mammals consume the berries. The stems between the cone's scales. Douglas firs usually grow at the calcium-rich young pads are eaten raw, boiled, or The most noticeable feature bearing leaves make it easy to identify miner's lettuce. Images by Lee Dittmann used with permission from nazflora.org. them to make into mush, cereal, or bread. Mammals and roots produce a brilliant, yellow dye used to color higher elevations. Because of the cooler, north-facing fried. Many animals from grounds squirrels to coyotes about this plant is the large, veined leaves, shiny on Both Native Americans and pioneers used these Images by Al Schneider used with permission from and birds also eat, and sometimes cache, the seeds. cloth, buckskins, and baskets. slope, they thrive here. also enjoy the fruits. top, pale and fuzzy beneath.