Grass-forb CommunityAccording to Stoddart (1941), the grasslands of northern Utah form the southernmost extension of the Palouse prairie. Of the two communities into which the Palouse prairie is divided, only that dominated by bluebunch wheatgrass (Elymus Spicatus, originally known as Agropyron spicatum) occurs in Red Butte Canyon. Relatively large open areas inhabited by grasses and forbs, with an occasional big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), squawbush (Rhus trilobata), and bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), are found chiefly below the 1829 m (6000 ft) contour (Kleiner and Harper 1966), although smaller grass-forb associations also occur in forest clearings at higher elevations. Some of the grass-forb community at lower elevations are listed to the right. |
Grasses and Forbs Achillea millifolium, milfoil yarrow Allium acuminatum, tapertip onion Ambrosia psilostachya, western ragweed Arabis holboellii, Holboell rockcress Aristida purpurea, purple threeawn Artemisia ludoviciana, Louisiana wormwood Astragalus utahensis, Utah milkvetch Aster adscendens, everywhere aster Balsamorhiza macrophylla, cutleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata, arrowleaf balsamroot Bromus tectorum, cheatgrass Cirsium undulatrum, gray thistle Collomia linearis, narrowleaf collomia Comandra umbellata, bastard toadflax Crepis acuminata, mountain hawksbeard Cymopterus longipes, long-stalk spring-parsley Elymus trachycaulus, slender wheatgrass epilobium brachycarpum, autumn willowherb Erigeron divergens, spreading daisy Gutierrezia sarothrae, broom snakeweed Hedysarum boreale, northern sweetvetch Heliomeris multiflora, showy goldeneye Lomatium triternatum, ternate lomatium Lupinus argenteus, silvery lupine Microsteris gracilis, little polecat Phacelia linearis, threadleaf scorpionweed Phlox longifolia, longleaf phlox Poa secunda, Sandberg bluegrass Stipa comata, needle-and-thread Wyethia amplexicaulis, mulesears |