Week 4 Utah Flora Field Notes

Question 1

Draba cuneifolia - Brassicacea Family (mustard)
- 4 petals, 6 stamens (4 long, 2 short), cross shaped, star shaped hairs, annual (grows from seed for one season)
- smaller, white petals with oval shaped leaves (with few teeth), yellow center, has petals covering parts of the leaves, fruits that are pine cone shape and a pinkish/purple color

Answer 1

Wedgeleaf Draba

Question 2

Coleogyne ramosissima - Rosaceae Family (rose)
- common in the transitional zone
- desert adaptation (small leaved and more branching), opposite branching, darker green, 4 sepals for the flowers which are yellow, no actual petals
- has a darker red sepal “bud” that opens and is yellow

Answer 2

Blackbrush

Question 3

Juniperus osteosperma - Cupressaceae Family
- bony seed, galls used for the insects to plant their eggs
- Juniper berries, darker green compared to juniper mistletoe, ridges like a pine cone for the leaves

Answer 3

Utah Juniper

Question 4

Phoradendron juniperinum - Santalaceae Family (sandalwood)
- more of a bright green/orange color, salmon colored berries that have a sticky inside
- roots grow into the stem of the Utah Juniper, hemi-parasite (steal water but still do photosynthesis)

Answer 4

Juniper Mistletoe

Question 5

Comandra umbellata - Santalaceae Family (sandalwood)
- hemi-parasite, anywhere in North America, perennial
- longer stems from last year, rhizome stem underneath (all connected), alternate leaves (oval shaped), white petals (star shaped), flowers in clusters

Answer 5

Bastard Toadflax

Question 6

Boechera sp. - Brassicaceae Family (mustard)
- 4 petals, cross shaped, 6 stamens (4 long, 2 short)
- white/purple flowers, narrow to wide leaves

Answer 6

Rockcress

Question 7

Yucca baccata - Asparagaceae Family (asparagus)
- no trunk, thicker leaves, flowers don’t branch but come out onto the leaves, fleshy berry (fruit), tastes soapy

Answer 7

Banana Yucca

Question 8

Cylindropuntia whipplei - Cactaceae Family (cactus)
- shorter, closer to ground, bright green/almost white, darker at the bottom, not much branching
- yellow/green petals with a yellow center for the flowers

Answer 8

Whipple’s Cholla

Question 9

Castilleja chromosa - Orobanchaceae Family (broomrape)
- hemi-parasite, related to snapdragons, gray and red, green flowers inside

Answer 9

Desert Paintbrush

Question 10

Eriophyllum wallacei - Asteraceae Family (sunflower)
- minute plants with one flower head, woolly leaves, yellow one is common in the area, annual, fuzzy looking stems/leaves

Answer 10

Wallace’s Woolly Daisy

Question 11

Dimorphocarpa wislezeni - Brassicaceae Family (mustard)
- gray/green foliage, fruit looks like a pair of sunglasses, white petals in bunches

Answer 11

Spectacle Pod

Question 12

Arctostaphylos pungens - Ericaceae Family (heather/blueberry)
- little berry that looks like an apple but not related, reddish bark, flowers range from white to pink, flowers hang upside down

Answer 12

Pointleaf Manzanita