March 14, 2011

Flora of the Spur

On the Spur Road north of Canyonlands Maze District and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the mesa extends over 75 square miles.  (The photo above looks north toward the Book Cliffs in the distance and Determination Butte, the reddish cliff in the background.)
Much of the grassland offers good forage, but not many animals graze on it because water is so scarce.
Native bunch grass is abundant, such as Indian ricegrass:
Curly grass, also known as blue grama, is a sod-forming grass that provides good nutrition for grazing animals: 
In some areas, blackbrush (a gray color, leafless at this time of year) and Ephedra nevadensis(Mormon Tea, the green plant shown below) preside:
  The tea made from this Ephedra plant contains no caffeine and although some species contain alkaloids such as pseudoephedrine, this one does not. Here and there on the prairie, you'll find patches of prickly pear and the occasional spiny yucca plant.
The primary tree that grows in this area is the juniper. Junipers require an extensive root system to survive in their desert home.  The lateral roots can reach out 100 feet in search of moisture, and the tap root can go 25 feet straight down.  These trees are slow growing, living an average of 350-700 years, and occasionally more than 1000 years.  The junipers' twisted limbs add character to the landscape.

16 comments:

  1. I like the photo of Steve galloping and also the Juniper tree. The rice grass looks so dainty with the sky as backdrop.

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  2. The first photo is like a movie shoot!

    We were going to name one of the classrooms in our new Environmental Ed building the "Mormon Tea Classroom" after the plant (they are ALL named after plants) but a board member was all offended by the name. LOL! It will now be the 'Pinyon Pine' room which I think is sad. The former name would have opened up some great conversation about plants and old west history that will now be sadly forgotten. Short-sighted! Sigh.

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  3. I heard western music playing i the first shot:)
    Amazing stats on those ancient trees. Roots go deep.

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  4. What wonderful rich earth. And that Indian rice is so pretty!

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  5. What a lovely post, Janie. I love Steve galloping across the plain with the red mountains in the background. The grasses are so pretty and your tea might be similar to our Rooibos (red-bush ) in South Africa. And WOW to the Juniper tree. I never knew it was a tree, always thought of it as a bush/shrub. Thanks for this delightful post. Have a great day. Blessings, Jo

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  6. Great shot of Steve heading off into the sunset, or after the bandit, or Daisy, or just exercising his horse.

    I love how you know the names of all the plants.

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  7. What a gorgeous picture of the juniper, the land and the sky. I've planted blue gramma on a bank ditch. It worked well.

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  8. Oh how I'm missing this landscape. I love the colors and intensity about this high desert and find the junipers like sculptures.

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  9. Beautiful fauna...LOVE LOVE LOVE the twisty texture of the Juniper tree.
    Have a great day!

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  10. Thanks for the lesson (and pictures) of the flora of the Canyonlands Maze District.
    I really like the picture of Steve -- it's perfect for a western movie.

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  11. Interesting about the Junipers, Janie... I didn't know their history....

    That is gorgeous land out there near Canyonlands and Glen Canyon... Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  12. Janie, the colour on that last photo is absolutely breathtaking and oh how I would like to ride in your neck of the world. Thank you for taking me along for the ride!
    Smiles

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  13. I think I have left similar comments before, but your pictures really make me want to visit Utah. Their is something alluring and wild about them. Our 6-year-old keeps begging us to take her on a plane, so maybe when we do that we should bring her our there.

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  14. The juniper photo is stunning. We have a number of juniper shrubs so the plant must be very hardy and resilient in many climate zones.

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  15. interesting info--especially about the Juniper tree.

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  16. That's amazing that the tap root may grow 25 feet straight down to find water. I guess that while alive these junipers NEVER bow down.

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