Woody Plants Wildland Plant Identification Rangeland Ecology & - - PDF document

Wildland Plant Identification REM 351 University of Idaho 1

Woody Plants

Wildland Plant Identification

Rangeland Ecology & Management 351

7 Common Woody Plants

Family Genus species Common Name Character BETULACEAE Alnus incana Mountain Alder (Per / Nat) EPHEDRACEAE Ephedra trifurca Morman Tea (Per / Nat) FABACEAE Acacia greggii Catclaw Acacia (Per / Nat) FABACEAE Prosopis glandulosa Honey Mesquite (Per / Nat) FAGACEAE Quercus gambelii Gambel Oak (Per / Nat) ROSACEAE Adenostoma fasciculatum Chamise (Per / Nat) ZYGOPHYLLACEAE Larrea tridentata Creosotebush (Per / Nat)

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Alnus incana

• Gray, smooth bark
• Often with multiple stems

BETULACEAE

Mountain Alder

Alnus incana

• Leaves ovate (heartshaped) with

prominent veins & abruptly pointed, sharply double toothed

• Mature catkins are oval, dark

brown, woody, & persitent

BETULACEAE

Mountain Alder

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Ephedra trifurca

– Shrub – up to 6 ft. tall – Branches whorled at nodes or solitary

EPHEDRACEAE

Mormon Tea or

Longleaf Jointfir

– Does not have traditional leaves – Produces cones – Leaves

• Whorled in

groups of three – Jointed stem

Ephedra trifurca EPHEDRACEAE

Mormon Tea or

Longleaf Jointfir

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Acacia greggii

– Shrub or small tree – 3-6 ft. tall – Forms thickets – Spines on Branches

FABACEAE

Catclaw Acacia

– Leaves alternate

• Even-bipinnately

compound – Flowers creamy- white – Produces flat, curved legumes

Acacia greggii FABACEAE

Catclaw Acacia

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Prosopis glandulosa

– Shrub or small tree – 20 ft. tall – Inflorescences greenish-yellow to creamy yellow

Honey Mesquite

FABACEAE

• Fruits are pods
• Long and straight
• r slightly curved
• Leaves
• Alternate
• Even
• bipinnately
• Compound

Prosopis glandulosa

Honey Mesquite

FABACEAE

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Quercus gambelii

Gambel Oak

FAGACEAE

• Bark is light gray to

white (other Quercus barks are darker)

Quercus gambelii

Gambel Oak

FAGACEAE

• Deeply 5-9 lobed (Q. stellata

3-5 lobed), oval outline

• Acorn cup encloses ¼ to 1/3
• f the nut

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Adenostoma fasciculatum

• Some branches may taper to

spine-like points, lenticels on bark

• Bark is red, becoming shreddy

with age; plant is evergreen

Chamise

ROSACEAE Adenostoma fasciculatum

– Leaves of seedlings are lobed & divided – Leaves fascicled, awl- or club- shaped, glabrous, resinous

Chamise

ROSACEAE

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Larrea tridentata

– Shrub – 9 ft. tall – No well defined trunk – Reproduces via rhizomes and seeds

Creosotebush

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE

– Twigs slender with brown nodes – Foliage emits creosote odor, particularly when wet or burned – Leaves

• Opposite
• Bifoliate
• Glossy

Larrea tridentata

Creosotebush

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE