Plants of Castlewood Canyon State Park

Equisetum arvense, the field horsetail or common horsetail, is a herbaceous perennial plant, native throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It has separate sterile non-reproductive and fertile spore-bearing stems, growing from a perennial underground rhizomatous stem system. The fertile stems are produced in early spring and are non-photosynthetic, while the green sterile stems start to grow after the fertile stems have wilted, and persist through the summer until the first autumn frosts. less ↑

Cystopteris fragilis is a species of fern known by the common names brittle bladder-fern and common fragile fern. It can be found worldwide, generally in shady, moist areas. The leaves are up to 30 or 40 centimeters long and are borne on fleshy petioles. Each leaf is divided into many pairs of leaflets, each of which is subdivided into lobed segments. The underside of the leaf has many rounded sori containing the sporangia. less ↑

Asplenium septentrionale is a species of fern known by the common names northern spleenwort and forked spleenwort. It is native to western North America, Europe, and Asia, where it grows on rocks. Its long, slender leaves give it a distinctive appearance, more like a grass than a typical fern. Three subspecies exist, corresponding to a tetraploid and a diploid cytotype and their triploid hybrid. less ↑

Woodsia neomexicana, the New Mexican cliff fern, is a fern species native to the western United States and northern Mexico. The core of its range is in Coahuila, Nuevo León, Zacatecas, New Mexico, southeastern Utah, Arizona, western Texas and southern Colorado, with isolated populations reported from Oklahoma and South Dakota. The plant usually grows in cracks in the sides of cliffs, on top of rocks, etc. less ↑

Dryopteris filix-mas (male fern) is a common fern of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, native to much of Europe, Asia, and North America. It favours damp shaded areas in the understory of woodlands, but also shady places on hedge-banks, rocks, and screes. It is much less abundant in North America than in Europe. The plant is sometimes referred to in ancient literature as worm fern. less ↑

Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain Juniper) is a species of juniper native to western North America, in Canada in British Columbia and southwest Alberta, in the United States from Washington east to North Dakota, south to Arizona and also locally western Texas, and northernmost Mexico from Sonora east to Coahuila. It grows at altitudes of 500-2,700 m on dry soils, often together with other juniper species. less ↑

Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species of conifer in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia. Relict populations can be found in the Atlas Mountains of Africa. less ↑

Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, or western yellow pine, is a very large pine tree of variable habit native to western North America, but widespread throughout the temperate world. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington state near present-day Spokane. It is the official state tree of Montana. less ↑

Alfalfa /ælˈfælfə/, Medicago sativa, also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. The English name alfalfa is widely used, particularly in North America and Australia. But in the UK, South Africa and New Zealand, the more commonly used name is lucerne. It superficially resembles clover, with clusters of small purple flowers followed by fruits spiralled in 2 to 3... less ↑

Lupinus argenteus is a species of lupine known by the common name silvery lupine. It is native to much of western North America from the southwestern Canadian provinces to the southwestern and midwestern United States, where it grows in several types of habitat, including sagebrush, grassland, and forests. This is a perennial herb growing erect to heights anywhere between 10 centimeters and 1.5 meters. It is sometimes silvery-hairy in texture and sometimes nearly hairless. Each palmate... less ↑

Astragalus drummondii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Drummond's milkvetch. The botanist Thomas Drummond first identified the plant during his travels in North America from 1825 to 1835, the year of his death. Accordingly A. drummondii, amongst many other plants, was named after the late botanist. Upon the return of samples collected by Drummond to England, his findings were published in Sir William Hooker’s Flora Boreali-Americana in... less ↑

Glycyrrhiza lepidota (American licorice) is a species of Glycyrrhiza (a genus in the pea/bean family, Fabaceae) native to most of North America, from central Canada south through the United States to California, Texas and Virginia, but absent from the southeastern states. It is also sometimes known in the United States as "wild licorice", to distinguish it from the related European liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) which is occasionally cultivated. less ↑

Dalea candida is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name white prairie clover. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout central Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico. It can sometimes be found outside its range as an introduced species. It grows in many types of habitat, including several types of prairie, foothills, woods, forests, and disturbed areas. less ↑

The Virginia strawberry, wild strawberry, or common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) is one of two species of wild strawberry that were hybridized to create the modern domesticated garden strawberry. Its natural range is confined to North America, in the United States (including Alaska) and Canada, although a popular variety called "Little Scarlet" is grown only in Great Britain, having been imported from the United States in the early 1900s. less ↑

Humulus lupulus (common hop or hop) is a species of flowering plant in the Cannabaceae family, native to Europe, western Asia and North America. It is a dioecious, perennial, herbaceous climbing plant which sends up new shoots in early spring and dies back to a cold-hardy rhizome in autumn. Strictly speaking it is a bine rather than a vine, using its own shoots to act as supports for new growth. less ↑

Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, Persian olive, or wild olive, or commonly referred to as senjhor or sinjhor in Pakistan, sinjid in Afghanistan senjed in Iran and p'shat (փշատ) in Armenia, is a species of Elaeagnus, native to western and central Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, from southern Russia and Kazakhstan to Turkey and Iran. It is now also widely established less ↑

Pterospora, commonly known as pinedrops, Albany beechdrops, or giant bird's nest is a monotypic genus in the subfamily Monotropoidiae of the blueberry family, the Ericaceae, and includes only the species Pterospora andromedea. It grows in coniferous or mixed forests. It is native to North America from southern Canada to the mountains of Mexico and is most commonly found in the western half of the continent, though small isolated populations are found in the northeastern United States and... less ↑

Collomia linearis is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names tiny trumpet and slenderleaf collomia. This tiny wildflower is native to North America where it is fairly widespread across the north and west. It is an annual herb with a velvety erect stem bearing long, narrow green leaves. Atop the stem is a cluster of up to 20 white or light pink flowers, each about a centimeter across. Each... less ↑

Cornus sericea, syn. C. stolonifera, Swida sericea, (red osier dogwood) is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native throughout northern and western North America from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south to Durango and Nuevo León in the west, and Illinois and Virginia in the east. Other names include red willow, redstem dogwood, redtwig dogwood, red-rood, American dogwood, creek dogwood, and western dogwood. less ↑

Frasera speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names monument plant, elkweed, and deer's ears. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in mountain forests, woodlands, and meadows. It is a perennial herb growing from a woody base surrounded by rosettes of large leaves that measure up to 50 centimeters long by 15 wide. It produces a single erect stem which can reach two... less ↑

Opuntia macrorhiza Engelm. is a common and widespread species of cactus with the common names "Plains Prickly Pear" or "Twist-spine Prickly Pear." It is found throughout the Great Plains of the United States, from Texas to Minnesota, as well as in the desert and Rocky Mountain states from Arizona to Idaho, with sporadic populations in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. It is also reported from northern Mexico, in the states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo León... less ↑

Eriogonum umbellatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower. It is native to western North America from California to Colorado to central Canada, where it is abundant and found in many habitats. This is an extremely variable plant and hard to identify because individuals can look very different from one another. Also, there are a great many varieties. It may be a perennial herb forming a... less ↑

Silene latifolia (formerly Melandrium album), the white campion is a dioecious flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to most of Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is a herbaceous annual, occasionally biennial or a short-lived perennial plant, growing to between 40–80 centimetres tall. It is also known in the US as bladder campion but should not be confused with Silene vulgaris, which is more generally called bladder campion. less ↑

Bassia scoparia (syn. Kochia scoparia) is a large annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae native to Eurasia. It has been introduced to many parts of North America, where it is found in grassland, prairie, and desert shrub ecosystems. Its common names include burningbush, ragweed, summer cypress, mock-cypress, kochia, belvedere, Mexican firebrush, and Mexican fireweed. less ↑

Cirsium vulgare, the spear thistle, bull thistle, or common thistle, is a species of the Asteraceae genus Cirsium, native throughout most of Europe (north to 66°N, locally 68°N), Western Asia (east to the Yenisei Valley), and northwestern Africa (Atlas Mountains). It is also naturalised in North America, Africa, and Australia and is an invasive weed in some areas. It is the national flower of Scotland. less ↑

Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion (often simply called "dandelion"), is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae (Compositae). It can be found growing in temperate regions of the world, in lawns, on roadsides, on disturbed banks and shores of water ways, and other areas with moist soils. T. officinale is considered a weed, especially in lawns and along roadsides, but it is sometimes used as a medical herb and in food preparation. Common dandelion... less ↑

Lactuca serriola, also called prickly lettuce, milk thistle (not to be confused with Silybum marianum, also called milk thistle) compass plant, and scarole, is an annual or biennial plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family. It has a slightly fetid odor and is commonly considered a weed of orchards, roadsides and field crops. It is the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). less ↑

Tragopogon dubius (western salsify, western goat's-beard, wild oysterplant, yellow salsify, yellow goat's beard, goat's beard, goatsbeard, common salsify, salsify) is a species of Salsify native to southern and central Europe and western Asia and found as far north and west as northern France. Although it has been reported from Kashmir and India, recent evidence suggests that specimens from these areas may be a different species. Western Salsify has been introduced into North America where it has... less ↑

Antennaria parvifolia is a North American species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Nuttall's pussytoes and small-leaf pussytoes (not to be confused with littleleaf pussytoes). It is native to central and western North America, where it is widespread in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico from British Columbia east to Ontario and south to California, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It has not been observed in California since 1987. less ↑

Antennaria rosea is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name rosy pussytoes. It is native to much of North America, including most of Canada and the western United States. It is a plant of many habitats, from dry to wet climates and low elevation to very high. It is a very morphologically diverse species; individuals can look very different. It is polyploid and exhibits apomixis; most all the plants... less ↑

Artemisia frigida is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names fringed sagebrush, prairie sagewort, arctic sage and pasture sage (however it is not closely related to the true sages Salvia). It is native to Europe, Asia, and much of North America, in Canada and the western United States. In parts of the north-central eastern United States it is an introduced species. less ↑

Achillea millefolium, known commonly as yarrow /ˈjæroʊ/ or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo (Spanish for 'little feather') from its leaf shape and texture. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in stanching the flow of blood from wounds. Other common names... less ↑

Solidago missouriensis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Missouri goldenrod and prairie goldenrod. It is native to North America, where it is widespread across much of Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It grows from British Columbia east to Manitoba, south as far as Sonora, Coahuila, Texas, and Mississippi. less ↑

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence (flowering head), and its name is derived from the flower's shape and image, which is often used to capture the sun. The plant has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves, and circular flower heads. The heads consist of many individual flowers which mature into seeds, often in the hundreds, on a receptacle base. From the Americas,... less ↑

Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel, Indian blanket, Indian blanketflower, or sundance), is a North American species of short-lived perennial or annual flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is native to northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas) and the southern and central United States from Arizona east to Florida and the Carolinas and north as far as Nebraska. It is also naturalized in scattered locations in other parts of less ↑

Erodium cicutarium, also known as redstem filaree, redstem stork's bill, common stork's-bill or pinweed, is a herbaceous annual – or in warm climates, biennial – member of the family Geraniaceae of flowering plants. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin and was introduced to North America in the eighteenth century, where it has since become invasive, particularly of the deserts and arid grasslands of the southwestern United States. less ↑