Plants
Plant life in the Reserve
Plants in the Reserve are adapted to deal with shallow soil and scant water. Slow-growing desert scrub vegetation and fragile ephemeral species take advantage of winter and late summer rain. Sage, blackbrush, creosote, and scrub live oak, survive the hot, dry desert conditions using strategies such as light reflective coloration, small leaves, waxy leaf coverings, and the ability to drop their leaves and survive in a dormant state during extreme drought. Cacti store moisture in their fleshy pads. Annual grasses and plants quickly flourish after seasonal rains, flower, then leave their seeds to wait for the next rain.
Common Species Checklists
Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, including Snow Canyon State Park
Plants (trees, shrubs, wildflowers, cacti, yucca)
Trees
Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)
Honey Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora)
Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis)
Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma)
Shrubs
Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata)
Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata)
Blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima)
Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae)
Creosote Bush (Larrea divaricata)
Datil Yucca (Yucca baccata)
Desert Sagebush
Indigo Bush (Psorothamnus fremontii)
Mormon or Brigham Tea (Ephedra viridis)
Old Man, Sand Sagebush (Artemesia filifolia)
Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus)
Shrub Live Oak (Quercus turbinella)
Utah Yucca (Yucca utahensis)
Wildflowers
Bottlebush or Desert Trumpet (Erigonum inflatum)
Common Paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa)
Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)
Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata)
Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii)
Four O’Clock (Mirabilis multiflora)
Sego Lily (calchortus nutallii)
Spectaclepod (Dithyrea wislizenii)
Cacti
Cholla
Coryphantha (Coryphantha calipensis)
Engelmann Prickly Pear (Opuntia phaeacantha)
Purple Torch (Echinocereus engelmannii)
Silver Cholla (Opuntia echinocarpa)