Plants
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 quicky 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)
Trees
Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma)
Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis)
Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)
Honey Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora)
Shrubs
Utah Yucca (Yucca utahensis)
Datil Yucca (Yucca baccata)
Creosote Bush (Larrea divaricata)
Blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima)
Mormon or Brigham Tea (Ephedra viridis)
Indigo Bush (Psorothamnus fremontii)
Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata)
Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae)
Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus)
Old man or Sand Sagebush (Artemesia filifolia)
Shrub Live Oak (Quercus turbinella)
Wildflowers
Sego Lily (calchortus nutallii)
Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)
Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata)
Four O’Clock (Mirabilis multiflora)
Common Paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa)
Spectaclepod (Dithyrea wislizenii)
Bottlebush or Desert Trumpet (Erigonum inflatum)
Cacti
Purple Torch (Echinocereus engelmannii)
Silver Cholla (Opuntia echinocarpa)
Engelmann Prickly Pear (Opuntia phaeacantha)