Learn the plants while A note about terminology: All plant species are Hoary-tansyaster Smooth spreading four o’clock Rubber rabbitbrush White sagebrush Pass beneath the tunnel blasted through the Muttongrass native to Grand Canyon unless they are listed as Machaeranthera canescens – Asteraceae Mirabilis oxybaphoides – Nyctaginaceae Ericameria nauseosa – Asteraceae Artemisia ludoviciana – Asteraceae Kaibab Limestone cliff. Poa fendleriana – Poaceae walking the trail. exotic. Annual indicates the plant lives for only Forb with many branches. Perennial forb. Leaves Perennial shrub with Perennial forb with foliage Perennial bunchgrass. Leaves mainly one year, while perennial means it lives for more Leaves alternate and very opposite, heart-shaped, with felt-like, greyish-green that becomes gray-green as it Deer goldenbush come from the base of plant with than a year. A forb is a plant, other than a grass, narrow, often with bristly wavy margins. Stems many- upright branches. Leaves matures. Leaves deeply divided Ericameria arizonica – Asteraceae sheaths closed along the lower third that does not have a woody stem. tips. Flowers brilliantly blue branched and hairy. Purple alternate and narrow. into 3–5 lobes. Many yellow Perennial shrub to 1.5 ft / 50 cm of the leaf. Branched seed heads or purple with many petals funnel-shaped fowers with 3 Yellow fowers cover the fowers arranged in a branched tall. Reddish-tan stems with long, taper towards the top; April – August. A number of plants grow near the trailhead. om Chester Cliffrose surrounding a yellow center; lobes; August to September. plant July to October. stalk; August to October. narrow leaves. Yellow fowers © T © Lisa Kearsley See how many you can identify while © Lisa Kearsley July to November. with a big, fufy center and 5 A widespread grass often found in enjoying the magnifcent canyon view. © Al Schneider You will see this plant trailing Rabbitbrush becomes one of the most noticeable White sagebrush, found throughout Grand Canyon, is narrow petals appear in the fall. open woodlands and grasslands, this These eye-catching fowers add color along the trail along the ground. The genus shrubs in late summer and fall when it is covered with one of the most widely distributed species in western is an important food source for elk, © Lisa Kearsley Pinyon pine well into the fall. They grow in areas that have been name, Mirabilis, translates as dense masses of tiny yellow fowers. Rabbits browse North America. Native Americans boil it into a tea, Like Grand Canyon rockdaisy, deer, and bighorn sheep. The Havasupai grind and eat Pinus edulis – Pinaceae © Al Schneider disturbed or have poor soils. The Navajo use this plant “wonderful,” for its large, and hide in the plant. The Hopi use the branches in burn it as an incense, and crush it to use as a poultice. these plants occur mainly along the seeds or boil them to make dumplings. Short tree to 45 ft / 15 m tall, to help with nasal congestion and stomach aches. beautiful fowers. Native Americans used the root to basket making. the rock wall above the trail. They often with a crooked trunk treat colic, rheumatism, and infections. also are endemic to (i.e. found Chester © Tom Continue to the sign warning of the danger and furrowed dark bark. Walk down to the Bright Angel Trail only at) Grand Canyon. Botanists recently designated of hiking to the river and back in one day. Cheatgrass information sign at the frst switchback. Two short, curved needles 50 feet / 15 meters down the trail is a geology this plant as a new species. per bundle. Small cones Bromus tectorum – Poaceae California brickellbush Fernbush sign introducing the Kaibab Formation. The Brickellia californica – Asteraceae produce large seeds each Exotic annual grass with Chamaebatiaria millefolium – Rosaceae next two shrubs surround it. Squirreltail Big sagebrush fall. drooping seed heads. Many-branched, aromatic Elymus elymoides – Poaceae Artemisia tridentata – Asteraceae Shrub to 5 ft / 1.5 m tall. Leaves Starting at the trailhead, this guide Plants solitary or in clumps. shrub to 3 ft / 1 m tall. Leaves Mountain snowberry Perennial shrub with thick, alternate and fernlike. White fowers points out some of the plants you pass. Pinyon pines are one of Flowers and dries in May. illand triangular, toothed, and Perennial bunchgrass with with 5 petals; July to November. the most common trees Symphoricarpos oreophilus – Caprifoliaceae covered with fne hairs. Flowers leaves that are often folded crooked trunk and silvery Trail descriptions (written in red) help s College gray-green foliage. Leaves Fernbush is easily identifed by its you fnd where diferent plants frst start along the South Rim. Their Cheatgrass invaded the Deciduous shrub to 5 ft / 1.5 m cylindrical, white to yellowish, or rolled down. Flowers sticky leaves, which © Jason W wedge-shaped and hairy cones produce large, tasty United States in the late tall with smooth stems. Leaves and clustered; July to October. March to September with loose with 3 rounded lobes at the look like miniature to appear along the trail. You will not © Lee Dittmann pinyon nuts. The nuts were © Lisa Kearsley (both) 1800s. It spread quickly, outcompeting native grasses opposite and oval. Tubular and open seed heads. ferns. The fowers, only identify common plants, but also an important food for Brickellbush, while quite common, is often overlooked tip. Flower stalks emerge and crops, “cheating” farmers and wildlife alike from pink fowers with 5 lobes ousseau, St. Mary’ from ends of branches; © Lisa Kearsley showy and sweet- discover interesting facts about each. Native Americans. Jays cache the seeds in the ground more edible and nutritious native grasses. Cheatgrass bloom May to August; followed since its features are not distinctive. Can you fnd it The seed heads look like a © Lee Dittmann (both) ed Br. Alfr© Br Alfr© ed Br. August to September. smelling, attract bees. Record how many plants you can fnd by to retrieve when food is scarce. Seeds not eaten may often moves into areas damaged by overgrazing or by white berries. along the trail? This drought-tolerant bush grows best bushy squirrel’s tail or bottle Deer and sheep browse the foliage. germinate in the spring, helping propagate the tree. other disturbances. Seed heads stick in hikers’ socks, © Lee Dittmann in rocky areas with full sun. brush. It survives when exposed checking of the box next to each name. One of the most widely distributed which helps disperse the seeds. Snowberry reproduces both by seed and by vegetative to fre and competes well against clones. Birds and small mammals eat the brilliantly invasive cheatgrass. Deer and elk graze the grass. Its shrubs in the southwestern United Gooseberry / Currant © Lee Dittmann Plants are ordered according to the States, sagebrush is known for its Green ephedra Ribes sp. – Saxifragaceae Gambel oak white berries. The Havasupai fashion cradleboards Penstemon seeds are eaten by rodents and rabbits. Ephedra viridis – Ephedraceae frst time they appear along the trail. from the stems. pungent odor. Native Americans and pioneers Quercus gambelii – Fagaceae Penstemon sp. – Scrophulariaceae depended upon it for medicine, fuel, and food. Since they are close enough to see from Perennial shrub to 6 ft / 2 m Perennial shrub with many tall. Leaves alternate with Tree to 15 ft / 5 m tall Perennial forb of tall stalks with fowers along upper upright, green, jointed stems. the trail, please do not walk of the 3 to 5 lobes and prominent with gray, furrowed Utah serviceberry portion; March to September. Leaves opposite, Grand Canyon rockdaisy Look closely at the stems for Amelanchier utahensis – Rosaceae Perityle congesta – Asteraceae Gray aster trail while examining them. Can you veins. White tubular bark. Deeply lobed triangular shaped, sometimes clasping the stem. the small, scale-like leaves Eurybia glauca – Asteraceae recognize the same plants in diferent fowers appear May to July, leaves are smooth above Shrub to 15 ft / 5 m tall. Leaves Perennial shrub to 1 ft / 30 cm tall and in the spring, for small locations along the trail? followed by red berries. and hairy below. Large alternate, oval, hairy, and Many penstemon species with many slender stems. Leaves Perennial forb with alternate, yellow-green cones. acorns mature in fall. toothed. White fowers with inhabit Grand Canyon. alternate, mostly along stem, oval, pale green leaves. Violet- Two species grow along the 5 petals appear April to May. Eaton’s frecracker (left) with and sometimes toothed. Tiny tinged white fowers with Ephedra looks like a branched, upside- ) Start at the trailhead for the Bright Angel © Lee Dittmann trail. Gooseberry has spines, Oak provides shelter Orange fruits ripen in summer. beautiful narrow, red fowers ) yellow fowers June to October. narrow petals and a yellow down broom, its leaves hardly noticeable. right © Lisa Kearsley Trail on the canyon rim near the rock while currant does not. The and food for many animals. Early cultures ground the is most abundant at higher left This small, rounded plant has a center; July to September. Related to pines and juniper, it bears cones corral for the mules, 300 feet / 100 meters berries are edible, but please leave acorn into meal. Its hard wood is important for tool- The foliage and berries are an important food for a elevations. Palmer’s penstemon delicate appearance. Watch for it © Kristin Huisinga The showy fowers highlight instead of fowers. Ephedra produce © Lori Makarick west of Kolb Studio. them for other animals. Birds love © Lee Dittmann (both) making, and its bark produces a tan dye for Navajo variety of wildlife. People have long eaten the berries. (right) exhibits showy pink growing out of cracks in the rock wall above the trail. the large, dense patches of cafeine and ephedrine and have been used the berries.