Welcome to the Carpenter Natural Area THE COMMUNITY The Carpenter Natural Area encompasses wetlands and dry hills and flatlands of sand and Mancos Shale. The lower wetland areas have a concrete path along which you will find some native , such as, Cottonwood trees and willows, but you will also find many non- native weedy plants. Along the sand and shale trails north of the concrete path, almost all the plants are native. This brochure introduces you to the trees, , and non-woody (herbaceous) species you will find along these two trail areas. Some species can be found year- round, but others grow, flower, and then die and decay in just a few weeks.

The brochure is divided into two sections. The first section has drawings and photographs mostly of woody plants you are likely to find year-round. The second section has a list of almost all the plants that grow in the Carpenter Natural Area. If you would like to keep this brochure and maintain a record of the plants you find in the Carpenter area, you may do so. Otherwise, please return the brochure to a box at either end of the paved trail. PLEASE STAY ON THE TRAIL

Common names of plants are not standardized and they vary considerably. Common names in this brochure are those most often used in southwest . Scientific names are the same world-wide. The scientific names used here are in accord with the Floristic Synthesis of North America: www.bonap.net/TDC/ . For more information and photographs about the plants of the Carpenter Natural Area and the Four Corners region, see www.swcoloradowildflowers.com . This brochure was made by volunteer Al Schneider of the San Juan/Four Corners Native Plant Society with the cooperation of the Cortez Parks and Recreation Department. Drawings donated by Page Lindsey. Some materials are from the Durango Nature Trail Brochure. Comments and suggestions? [email protected]. Updated June 19, 2014.

Broadleaf Yucca (Banana Yucca or Datil) (Yucca baccata) Agave Family (Agavaceae)

 Leaves broad, to 3 feet long, stiff, sword-like, fleshy, blue-green, with curled fibers along the edges; leaves emerge from near soil line  Flowers large, pendent, creamy white in dense, elongated 1+’ long clusters; flowers mostly within the leaves; May-June; flowers are night-pollinated only by Tegiticula yuccasella, the Yucca Moth  Fruits large, fleshy, often sweet; eaten by native peoples and wildlife  Leaf fibers woven into sandals, mats, etc.; roots used for soap

Squaw Bush (Rhus aromatica) Sumac Family (Anacardiaceae)

 Upright, densely branching 4-8’ tall and wide; foliage and twigs strongly aromatic  Flowers yellow, tiny but numerous in dense clusters, appearing in early spring before foliage  Fruits red, oval, hairy; impart lemon flavoring when added to water bottle  Leaves deciduous, alternate, 3-lobed, red in fall

Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)

 Abundant shrub in 4 Corners area, to 6’ tall and wide; favors alkaline soils; gray-green, hairy, aromatic stems; readily seeds itself  Flowers golden in dense clusters in late summer to fall  Fruits dandelion-like (little air-borne parachutes) with a single seed per fruit  Leaves slender, linear, gray green to light green  Pollen causes allergic reaction in some humans Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)

 Dominant shrub of southwest; to 8’ tall & wide, straggly with thick curving stems, shredding bark  Flowers tiny, yellow in elongated clusters at tips of branches; appear in late summer to fall  Leaves most often with three teeth at apex; light, gray-green with distinct pungent sage aroma; usually evergreen

Hairy Golden Aster (Heterotheca villosa) Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)

 Very common; lines roads, sidewalks, vacant lots, trails  Mounded perennial to 24” tall & wide; meadows, forests, disturbed sites  Blooms almost continuously from late spring to fall  Many yellow flowerheads composed of numerous, tightly packed, tiny disk flowers surrounded by about 24 long ray flowers  Fruits in dandelion-like fluffy seed heads  Leaves narrow, gray-green, covered with hairs, aromatic; stems hairy

Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia polyacantha) Cactus Family (Cactaceae)

 Six species of cacti are common in the area; this one is a low growing, spreading succulent plant with flattened, spiny pads (which are really stems); pads shrivel in drought  Flowers large, yellow or pink, appearing in early summer  Fruit red to purple, fleshy and juicy, spineless but with glochids (tiny barbed bristles) that are very irritating to the skin  Small, succulent green leaves are present early in the spring but soon dry and drop; pads are primary organ for photosynthesis

Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens) Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae)

 Shrub 3-10’ tall; prefers alkaline and saline soils and dry conditions  Flowers tiny, green/yellow, inconspicuous but in large masses in late spring; 2 types of flowers: male (pollen-forming) and female (fruit-forming)  Fruits with four paper-like wings, dry, with a single seed, very nutritious  Leaves narrow to linear, covered with fine hairs that give them a silvery appearance, many leaves drop in the winter

Utah (Juniperus osteosperma) Cypress Family (Cupressaceae)

 Evergreen tree, often as wide as it is tall, shaggy bark; lives over 1000 years  Blue cones (they appear to be berries) are dry, fleshy with seeds inside  Leaves are overlapping, minute, rounded, scale-like  Wood is highly aromatic (used for cedar chests) and rot resistant (used for fence posts)  Commonly (and incorrectly) referred to as “Cedar”

Russian Olive (Eleagnus angustifolia) Oleaster Family (Elaeagnaceae)  Invasive moist-to-wetland tree to 50 feet tall; alternate branching; spines on older branches  Not related to true olives  Flowers tiny, very sweet smelling, yellow, June  Fruits 1/2”, pale green/white, olive-shaped; feasted on by birds  Leaves pale gray-green, long and narrow; bark red/brown, in vertical strips

Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) Oak Family (Fagaceae)

 By far the most common oak in Colorado; deciduous; 10-30’ tall  Male flowers tiny but in very visible long chains (catkins); female flowers inconspicuous at twig tips, wind-pollinated; flowers appear in late spring to early summer  Leaves deeply to shallowly lobed  Fruit an edible acorn  Many insects use twigs and foliage for food and for laying eggs (tree forms galls around these egg masses); wood burns long and hot  Notice the lichen on the bark

Cliff Fendler Bush ( rupicola) Hydrangea Family ()

 Shrub with opposite branching pattern; to 8’  Flowers in May-early June; flowers large, numerous, white, 4-petaled  Fruits small, dry; 4-sided buff-colored seed capsules persist on the plant  Leaves narrow, opposite, tapering to a point

Coyote Willow (Salix exigua) Willow Family (Salicaceae)

 Very common. Forms thickets of multiple stems in wetlands  Minute flowers are in conspicuous cylinders (catkins).  Fruits of female flowers in mass of white fluff (right near center)  Male flowers on stalks with pollen, curling (far right)  Leaves shiny green, long, slender, pointed tip, central vein  Seeds itself easily and lines waterways along with cattails

Serviceberry ( alnifolia & Amelanchier utahensis) Rose Family ()  Deciduous shrubs to 15’, alternate branches, often light purple stems  Flowers April-May, bright white, in loose clusters at ends of branches, with five widely spaced, narrow petals; often fetid odor  Fruits small, blue, fleshy, sweet but subject to a rust (as are the leaves)  Leaves in early April, egg-shaped, toothed edges, prominent veins

Rio Grande Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) Willow Family (Salicaceae)  Tree to 50’ tall; deeply furrowed bark  Chains of flowers in spring followed by cotton-like fluff that carry the seeds  Leaves delta-shaped, serrate (saw-toothed); deciduous

Squaw Apple (Peraphyllum ramosissimum) Rose Family (Rosaceae)

 Densely branched deciduous shrub typically 5’ tall and wide, alternate branching pattern, forms thickets  Flowers numerous, white with pink tinges, fragrant, spring  Fruits crabapple-like, bitter, reddish-brown at maturity  Leaves narrowly elliptic to oblong, bunched at ends of twigs

Horsebrush (Tetradymia canescens), Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)  Shrub 1-4’ tall and wide (photo at left)  Flowers small, yellow, crowded (photo below); summer

 Fruit a juicy drupe (stone fruit), up to 1/3” across,  Leaves silvery, simple, oval, finely serrated (toothed)

Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila) Elm Family (Ulmaceae)

 Large shade trees to 60’ tall, four feet thick, 80 foot crown spread; introduced invasive species  Flowers numerous, multi-colored, tiny in early spring before leaves  Fruit flattened, winged, abundant  Leaves oval with serrated edges  Most common tree in towns of Four Corners