Flora Archives - Page 30 of 40

July 5, 2012March 4, 2018

Sereno Watson and the King Survey

Click for a larger view of Ogden Canyon taken by the King Survey. Courtesy USGS, T.H. O'Sullivan, Photographer — A King Survey Camp
Near Salt Lake City

Courtesy USGS
T.H. O’Sullivan, Photographer

The Mouth of Ogden Canyon
at the time of the King Survey

Courtesy USGS
T.H. O’Sullivan, Photographer

*Penstemon watsonii*
named for Sereno Watson
of the King Survey

Courtesy PenstemonFestival.com
Copyright Lisa White, Photographer

The mid-1800s were a transformative period in US history. The bloody Civil War had run its course. Twelve years earlier, the Mexican/American war had forced annexation of a vast territory that stretched from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean. Across the northern edge of this territory, a transcontinental railroad was planned. An ambitious young geologist, Clarence King, convinced President Lincoln of the need to explore, survey and map the topography, watersheds, geology, mineralogy, flora and fauna of this vast uncharted region. King mustered 20 scientists, technicians and frontiersmen to form his Survey of the 40th Parallel. The Survey team took multiple years to thoroughly explore and map a 100-mile-wide band from Virginia City Nevada to Cheyenne Wyoming.

Among the men was one Sereno Watson, who at 42, found himself disenchanted by his forays into medicine, teaching, farming and banking. Word of the King Survey fired his imagination, so in 1867 he joined the migration west. A barefoot, penniless Sereno Watson found the Survey encamped on the lower Truckee River south of Pyramid Lake. More from pity than need, Clarence King let Watson join as an unpaid assistant. When illness sidelined the Survey’s botanist, Serano Watson eagerly took his place.

King prized Watson for his diligence and enthusiasm. In June of 1869, the Survey staked out what would become a favorite encampment at Parley’s Park north of Park City. From that base, Survey members fanned out to explore the Wasatch Range, the western spurs of the High Uintas, and the Great Salt Lake. Watson added to his plant collections, ultimately pressing 900 specimens, many new to science. He later curated them back at Yale. Watson honored the Survey’s leader by naming new plant species kingii, including a species each of biscuit root, buckwheat, bladderpod, flax, lupine, clover and ragwort. Asa Gray, then the reigning US botanist, honored Sereno in naming Penstemon watsonii, a lovely species discovered by the mining town of Austin Nevada. You can see the striking sky blue flowering spires of this wildflower amid montane meadows from eastern Nevada across central Utah into Colorado, including the vicinity of Parley’s Park.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy USGS

and Courtesy PenstamonFestival.org, Lisa White, Photographer,
Text: Jim Cane, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

June 28, 2012June 27, 2016

Cryptobiotic Soil Crusts

Click to view larger image of Cryptobiotic Soil Crust, Photo Courtesy and Copyright Mark Larese-Casanova — Cryptobiotic Soil Crust
Photo Courtesy & Copyright 2009
Mark Larese-Casanova

Hi, this is Mark Larese-Casanova from the Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.

Looking out over a Utah desert, we might see relatively few plants- perhaps some sagebrush, maybe a few junipers or Joshua trees, or even some small wildflowers or cacti. What is less noticeable, though, is the living soil crust that holds this entire landscape together. It’s not just sand, but rather an important and vast partnership between bacteria, lichens, algae, and fungi. These soil crusts are often referred to as ‘cryptobiotic’, which means ‘living in suspended animation’. This is a fitting description, considering that water can be so rare in Utah’s deserts.

Cyanobacteria, which is often called blue-green algae, is the backbone of cryptobiotic soil crust. Vast networks of long, microscopic filaments of cyanobacteria and fungi grow in length when they are wet, and leave behind a casing that literally binds the soil together. So, what might otherwise be loose sand not only is less likely to be washed away by water or blown away by wind, but also is able to hold much more water for plants.

Cyanobacteria is also extremely useful to desert landscapes for its ability to take Nitrogen out of the air and make it available to plant roots in the soil. Desert soils typically have relatively low nutrients, so this is especially important to desert plants.

In many Utah deserts, cryptobiotic soil crusts can cover up to 70% of the ground surface. Old soil crust can often look like small mountain ranges with black or white peaks inhabited by lichens or mosses. The little valleys in between the tiny mountains of crust are perfect spots for the seeds of desert plants to grow. Over time, the above ground crust can grow up to ten centimeters, or four inches, thick!

However, cryptobiotic soil crust grows at an alarmingly slow rate of about one millimeter per year. So, any soil crust that is disturbed can take a very long time to recover. Depending on the amount of moisture a desert receives, it can take anywhere between 20 and 250 years for soil crust to grow back.

Next time you’re out in the desert, kneel down and have a close look at the telltale peaks and valleys of cryptobiotic soil crust. If you bring a magnifying glass, you just might be able to see some of the lichens and mosses. Be sure to stay on trail, though, and whatever you do, don’t bust that crust!

For Wild About Utah, I’m Mark Larese-Casanova.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy and copyright Mark Larese-Casanova
Text: Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
Additional Reading:

US Department of Interior. 2001. Biological Soil Crusts: Ecology and Management. Bureau of Land Management Technical Reference 1730-2., https://www.blm.gov/nstc/library/pdf/CrustManual.pdf
Rosentreter, R., M. Bowker, and J. Belnap. 2007. A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts of Western U.S. Drylands. U.S. Government Printing Office, Denver, Colorado., https://www.soilcrust.org/

December 15, 2011December 10, 2017

Woody Plants of Utah

Click for a larger view of Rubber Rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa Copyright 2010 Lyle Bingham — Rubber Rabbitbrush
*Ericameria nauseosa*
Copyright © 2010 Lyle Bingham

Big Sagebrush
*Artemisia tridentata*
Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project Field Crew/life.nbii.gov

Shadscale Saltbush
*Atriplex confertifolia*
Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project Field Crew/life.nbii.gov

Click for a larger view of Big Sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata, Courtesy Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project Field Crew/life.nbii.gov — Rubber Rabbitbrush
*Ericameria nauseosa*
Copyright © 2010 Lyle Bingham

Big Sagebrush
*Artemisia tridentata*
Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project Field Crew/life.nbii.gov

Shadscale Saltbush
*Atriplex confertifolia*
Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project Field Crew/life.nbii.gov

Hi I’m Holly Strand.

If you ‘re a plant lover, I’ve got just the thing for your Christmas list! A new field guide is just now hitting the shelves. It’s called Woody Plants of Utah by Renee Van Buren, Janet Cooper, Leila Shultz and Kimball Harper.

You may already own the very excellent Guide to the Trees of Utah and Intermountain West by Michael Kuhns. This book will help you identify over 219 native and introduced trees. It’s very useful because trees are what people tend to notice and appreciate. But trees are the dominant plant form on only 15% of Utah’s land area. Elsewhere, frequent droughts and extreme temperatures make life too hard for them.

Shrublands however, cover over 50% of the state. And that—in my opinion—is why you would also want the book Woody Plants of Utah on your shelf or in your backpack, for its pictures and descriptions of shrubs are outstanding.

I was amazed to find that there are over 82 species of shrub in the sunflower family alone! Sagebrush is in this family so that helps push the number up. Every Utahn should be able to recognize the aromatic big sagebrush that occurs in virtually every Utah county. As its common name implies it is larger than other kind of sagebrush. It can grow over 3 meters high! Other common species are Bigelow, sand, silver, and Wyoming sagebrush. In all there are over 19 different sagebrush species in the state.

Rabbitbrush is the common name for a number of shrub species distributed within 3 genera of the sunflower family. One of the most common forms, ericameria nauseosa, sounds like it might make you ill. Yet as the name suggests this yellow-flowered shrub is consumed by rabbits as well as by deer, elk, and pronghorn.

Where evaporation exceeds precipitation there’s a build-up of salts in the soil. This is common around the Great Salt Lake where water leaches into surrounding lands and then evaporates, concentrating salts near the surface. A number of shrubs are specifically adapted to saline conditions. Shadcale is one of the more common salt-tolerant amaranths. You many not recognize the name but undoubtedly you’ve driven or walked by this shrub innumerable times.

There are so many other shrubs to get to know: manzanitas, ephedras, mesquite, mountain mahogany, wild rose and wild raspberry just to name a few. Woody Plants of Utah will help you explore this fascinating but often underappreciated life form that blankets so much of our state.

Order the book through Utah State University Press or find it at your local bookstore.

For pictures and links go to www.Wildaboututah.org

For Wild About Utah, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy and Copyright Lyle Bingham
and Courtesy the NBII LIFE, https://life.nbii.gov
Text: Holly Strand

Sources & Additional Reading:
Van Buren, Renee, Janet Cooper, Leila Shultz and Kimball Harper. 2011.
Woody Plants of Utah: A Field Guide with Identification Keys to Native and Naturalized Trees, Shrubs, Cacti, and Vines. Utah State University Press.
https://www.usu.edu/usupress/books/index.cfm?isbn=8244

Kuhns, Michael. 1998. Guide to the Trees of Utah and Intermountain West Utah State University Press.
https://www.usu.edu/usupress/books/index.cfm?isbn=8244

December 8, 2011March 4, 2026

Jardine Juniper

Hi, I’m Chelsea McMahon and I’m Rose Wiarda from Utah State University’s Department of Environment and Society.

Can you recall watching a tree grow from a seed to a shade-giving giant over your lifetime? Now imagine this happening on a timescale of over 50 generations! Logan Canyon’s Jardine Juniper is a tree that has survived through many centuries of human history. Core samples taken from this gnarled giant reveal its age as an estimated 1500 years old. The Jardine Juniper was discovered in 1923 by Maurice Lindford, a student at Utah State Agricultural College, now Utah State University. Lindford named the tree in honor of fellow alumnus and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary William Mason Jardine.

The Jardine Juniper is a Rocky Mountain juniper, one of Utah’s two tree-sized native juniper species. The Rocky Mountain juniper is characterized by bluish-green foliage and bright blue berry-like cones. Native American tribes throughout the Intermountain West and the western Great Plains have traditionally used juniper berries, foliage, and roots for medicinal purposes.

The Jardine Juniper holds a position on Utah’s Big Tree champion list as the largest Rocky Mountain juniper in the state. It also occupies a position on the prestigious National Register of Big Trees. This register, which is maintained by non-profit group American Forests, records the dimensions of the largest trees in the nation. The Jardine Juniper overshadows other trees of its species with a 284-inch diameter and 40-foot height, making it not only the largest in the U.S., but the largest in the world.

Although its current foliage is sparse, the tree is still alive. This hardy sentinel has kept watch over centuries of change in the canyon, witnessing the comings and goings of native Shoshone peoples, the arrival of fur trappers and Mormon settlers, and the development of the canyon as part of the Uintah-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

If you wish to see this majestic remnant of another age, take a hike! The hike to the Jardine Juniper is about 9 miles round trip and is accessible by the Uintah-Wasatch-Cache National Forest trail 014, the Jardine juniper trail. Wear weather appropriate clothing and bring plenty of water—this hike is steep in places! Above all, enjoy your time in the presence of this impressive vestige of the past and remember that its preservation depends on kind treatment from visitors like you.

I’m Rose Wiarda and I’m Chelsea McMahon for Wild About Utah.
Credits:

Photos: Courtesy & © 2010 Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center https://logannature.org/
Text: Rose Wiarda & Chelsea McMahon, USU Environment & Society

Additional Reading:

American Forests National Register of Big Trees: https://www.americanforests.org/our-programs/bigtree/

General info about Jardine Juniper: https://ewb.usu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/INFO-Jardine-Juniper.pdf

General info about the Rocky Mountain Juniper: https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_jusc2.pdf

The Jardine Juniper Trail: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/uwcnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=9376&actid=24

Jardine Juniper Trail, LoganCanyonHiking.com, https://www.logancanyonhiking.com/jardine.htm