Plants

Cliffrose.

NPS/Amy Washuta

Vegetation on the monument and surrounding lands consists primarily of the pinyon-juniper woodland, grassland, and upland shrub communities typical of the Colorado Plateau. Pinyon-juniper woodland densely covers the higher elevations above the cliffs, and sparsely covers canyon sides. Thick stands of Gambel oak are found in the upper reaches of some drainages. Woodland trees are usually less than 20–30 feet (6–9 m) tall.

Open areas dominated by big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and greasewood are scattered in canyon bottoms. Other common shrubs include single-leaf ash, broom snakeweed, Utah serviceberry, yucca, Mormon tea, mountain mahogany, and cliffrose. Riparian plants common in canyon bottoms and other areas include coyote willow, horsetail, Rocky Mountain willow, western river birch, and several orchids.

Many cacti and wildflowers can also be found in the park.

Exotic invasive species are primarily found along park roads.

The park flora includes more than 66 families, 250 genera, and 450 species. A vegetation map is available.

For more information on vegetation at Colorado National Monument, visit the Northern Colorado Plateau Network website.

 

Species List

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Species attribute definitions

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Types of Plants

Trees

Wildflowers

Shrubs

Cactus & Succulents

Grasses