Welcome to the Nature Center at Butler Corner THE COMMUNITY The Nature Center at Butler Corner encompasses forest, meadow, and canyon communities of . This brochure introduces you to the trees, shrubs, and non-woody (herbaceous) species you will find in these various habitats. Some species are common; some are rare. Some can be found year-round, but others grow, flower, and then die and decay in just a few weeks.

This brochure is divided into two sections. The first section has pictures of plants that you are likely to notice year-round. The second section has a list of almost all the plants that grow in the Nature Center at Butler Corner. If you would like to keep this brochure and maintain a record of the plants you find at the Nature Center at Butler Corner, please do so. Otherwise, please return the brochure to the box. Common names in this brochure are those most often used in southwest . Common names of plants vary considerably from region to region in the U. S. Scientific names, which are the same world-wide, are based on www.bonap.net/TDC/ . For more plant information and photographs see www.swcoloradowildflowers.com . This brochure was made by volunteer Al Schneider. Drawings are by Carolyn Gunn and Page Lindsey. (Those by Carolyn are from the Carpenter Natural Area Trail Brochure. Those by Page are from the Durango Nature Trail Brochure.) See www.swcoloradowildflowers.com for photos and descriptions of the plants of the Nature Center and the entire Four Corners region. Comments and suggestions? [email protected]. Updated October 18, 2016.

Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) Pine Family (Pinaceae)

 Tallest tree at Butler Corner; thick, deeply furrowed, cinnamon-orange bark  Thin, needle- like leaves 4-7” long in bundles of 2 or 3 at tips of stems

 Cones are 3-6” long, brown, hard, with prickly bract tips that enclose the seeds which are tiny at the end of a 1” helicopter wing. Seeds eaten by wildlife

Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) Sunflower Family ()

 Abundant shrub in 4 Corners area, to 6’ tall and wide; readily seeds itself  Flowers (shown at right) are golden in dense clusters in late summer and fall  Flowers produce dense mass of seeds with fluffy dandelion-like parachutes  Aromatic newer stems are hairy white, older stems are woody brown. Leaves slender, linear, gray green to light green  Pollen causes allergic reaction in some humans  Flowers, leaves, seeds similar to Low Rabbitbrush ( depressus), but the latter is only 8-12” tall with brown woody stems Squaw Bush (Rhus aromatica) Sumac Family (Anacardiaceae)

 Upright, densely branching shrub 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 flavor when added to water  Leaves deciduous, alternate, 3-lobed, red in fall

Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)

 Dominant shrub of southwest; to 8’ tall & wide, straggly with thick stems, shredding bark  Flowers tiny, yellow in elongated clusters at tips of branches; appear in late summer, early fall  Leaves narrow, 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 in meadows & forests, lines roads, sidewalks, trails  Non-woody, mounded perennial to 24” tall & wide  Blooms almost continuously from late spring to fall  Flowerheads composed of numerous, tightly packed, tiny disk flowers (bead-looking in photo) 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 Four Corners area; this one is a low growing, spreading, succulent plant with 3” flattened, spiny pads (which are really stems).  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  Tiny succulent green leaves are present early in the spring but soon dry and drop; pads are the primary organ for photosynthesis

Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens) Amaranth Family (Amaranthaceae)

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

Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) Cypress Family (Cupressaceae)  Evergreen tree, often as wide (or wider) as it is tall, shaggy bark; lives over 1,000 years. Uncommon at the Nature Center; found primarily in the high desert in warmer, more dry environments than Juniperus scopulorum  Juniper and Pinyon Pine are the dominant trees of the Southwest  Blue cones (like berries) are dry, fleshy with 1or 2 seeds inside  Leaves minute, overlap, scale-like, in rounded arrangement  Wood is highly aromatic (used for cedar chests); rot resistant (used for fence posts)  Commonly (and incorrectly) referred to as “Cedar”

Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) Cypress Family (Cupressaceae)  Evergreen tree, much more commonly found at the Nature Center than Utah Juniper, usually taller than wide, pyramid-shaped, with loose gray bark in strips; lives over 1,000 years.  Found in mountain foothills in cooler, more moist environments than Juniperus osteosperma.  Blue cones (like berries) are dry, fleshy, 1 or 2 seeds inside  Leaves minute, overlap, scale-like, in flattened arrangement  Wood is highly aromatic (used for cedar chests); rot resistant (used for fence posts)  Commonly (and incorrectly) referred to as “Cedar”

Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) Oak Family (Fagaceae)

 The only oak in most of Colorado; thicket forming; deciduous; 10-30’ tall  Male flowers tiny but in very visible long chains (catkins) with super abundant yellow pollen that covers everything; female flowers that give rise to acorns are inconspicuous at twig tips, wind-pollinated; flowers appear in late spring to early summer  Leaves highly variable, deeply to shallowly lobed  Fruit an acorn eaten by many critters, including human critters  Many insects use twigs and foliage for food and for laying eggs. Tree forms galls around these egg masses  Wood burns long and hot. Beautiful lichen on the bark

Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) Rose Family (Rosaceae)

 Common shrub of woodlands; 2-4’ tall, sprawling to 8’ wide  Numerous spherical buds open to very sweet smelling pale yellow flowers in spring  Seed capsule is buff colored  Tiny, bundled leaves are very narrow at bottom and widen to 3 lobes at tip

Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia & Amelanchier utahensis) Rose Family (Rosaceae)  Deciduous shrubs to 10’ tall, alternate branches, often light purple stems  Flowers in April-May, bright white, in loose clusters at branch tips, five widely spaced, narrow petals; flowers often have 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

Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) Willow Family (Salicaceae)  Moisture loving trees to 40’ tall; sprout from roots to form colonies; smooth then deeply furrowed bark as trees age. Many small stems in messy arrangement along trunk of younger trees  Chains of flowers in spring followed by cotton-like fluff that carries the seeds  Leaves about 4 times longer than wide, shiny, finely serrated on edge; 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)  Dense 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 enclosed in a mass of fluff that completely covers the shrub (photo at left)  Leaves silvery, simple, oval, finely serrated (saw-toothed)