The flora of the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region is generally characterized by plant adaptations to the arid conditions of the region, and a wide variation of plant communities from wide variations in elevation and soil types.Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, The elevation variation results in temperature variation. Differing soil types are largely due to erosion of different sedimentary layers in the canyons, from the layers at lowest point of canyons of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

network, to the top layers of the plateau. Exceptions to flora adapted to aridity occur in lowland

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

areas, at springs, and in

hanging garden A hanging garden is a form of sustainable landscape architecture that can take several different forms, such as roof gardens, but is generally defined as a garden planted at a suspended or elevated position off the ground. These gardens are crea ...

Plant communities

Salt desert shrub community

The salt desert shrub is a

plant community A plant community is a collection or Association (ecology), association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The comp ...

vegetation type Vegetation classification is the process of classifying and mapping the vegetation over an area of the Earth's surface. Vegetation classification is often performed by state based agencies as part of land use, resource and environmental management ...

found in the

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. This plateau covers an area of 336,700 km2 (130,000 mi2) within w ...

and Canyonlands region. It is characterized by very

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...

and

saline soil Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization (also called salination in American English). Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salinization can be caused by natural ...

s and plants that can tolerate these conditions (

halophyte A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. ...

s). Dominant plant species include shadscale (''

Atriplex confertifolia ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Description The height of ''Atriplex confertifolia'' vari ...

''), greasewood (''

Sarcobatus vermiculatus ''Sarcobatus'' is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for ''S. vermiculatus'' include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush. Traditionally, ''Sarcobatus'' has been ...

''), and Mormon tea (''

Ephedra viridis ''Ephedra viridis'', known by the common names green Mormon tea, Brigham tea, green ephedra, and Indian tea, is a species of ''Ephedra (genus), Ephedra''. It is indigenous to the Western United States, where it is a member of varied scrub, woodlan ...

'').

Blackbrush scrub community

Sand desert shrub community

The sand desert shrub (SDS) is a

, or

, found in the

and Canyonlands region in areas of shifting sands or very sandy soils. Dominant plant species include old man sage (''

Artemisia filifolia ''Artemisia filifolia'', known by common names including sand sagebrush, sand sage and sandhill sage, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family. It is native to North America, where it occurs from Nevada east to South Dakota and fro ...

''),

yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

, Indian ricegrass ('' Stipa hymenoides''), and wavy leaf oak ('' Quercus welshii''). A common characteristic of plants in this community is a very deep and extensive root system, which helps stabilize the sand dunes, or an ability to adjust to the shifting sands. In the

Glen Canyon Glen Canyon is a natural canyon carved by a length of the Colorado River, mostly in southeastern and south-central Utah, in the United States. Glen Canyon starts where Narrow Canyon ends, at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Dirty ...

area, it can be found in lower elevation mesas, canyons, and terraces to in elevation.Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante & the Glen Canyon Region, 2nd ed, Ron Adkison

Mixed desert shrub community

Mixed desert shrub is a

, or

, found in the

and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States. It is supported by a range of overlapping and intergrading soil types. Characteristic dominant plant species include rubber rabbitbrush ('' Chrysothamnus nauseosus''), fourwinged saltbrush (''

Atriplex canescens ''Atriplex canescens'' (or chamiso, chamiza, four-wing saltbush) is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae (subfamily Chenopodioideae) native to the western and midwestern United States. Description ''Atriplex canescens'' has ...

''), blackbrush ('' Coleogyne ramosissima''), and dwarf mountain mahogany ('' Cercocarpus intricatus''). It is generally located at the elevation belt (zone) above sand desert shrub and below cool desert shrub.

Pinyon juniper woodland community

Mountain brush community

Mountain brush is a

of the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region. It covers large parts of the mountain foothills and shaded canyons in areas below the Ponderosa pine community. It is characterized by dominance by shrubby Gambel's Oak (''

Quercus gambelii ''Quercus gambelii'', with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountains of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak. T ...

''), Utah serviceberry (''

Amelanchier utahensis ''Amelanchier utahensis'', the Utah serviceberry, is a species of serviceberry forming a shrub or small tree. It is native to western North America. Description ''Amelanchier utahensis'' is a spreading plant, reaching a maximum of in heigh ...

''), sagebrush (''

Artemisia tridentata '' Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or simply sagebrush (one of several related species of this name), is an aromatic shrub from the ...

''), and mountain mahogany (''

Cercocarpus montanus ''Cercocarpus montanus'' is a North American species of shrub or small tree in the family Rosaceae native to northern Mexico and the western United States. It is known by the common names alder-leaf mountain-mahogany, alder-leaf cercocarpus, and ...

'').

Ponderosa pine forest

References

{{Utah

Colorado Plateau