Rangeland Plants:
wyoming tough
B-1265
Collaborators:
Mae Smith, Ashley Garrelts, Brian Sebade, Windy Kelley, Scott Schell, Michael Smith, J. Derek Scasta, Rachel Mealor, Barton Stam
Reviewers:
J. Daniel Rodgers, Jeffrey Beck, Mitchell Stephenson (UNL)
Editors:
Steven Miller, Mae Smith
Photos by:
Diane Fiedler, Mae Smith, Scott Schell, J. Derek Scasta, Kristina Hufford
Issued in furtherance of extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Glen Whipple, director, University of Wyoming Extension, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071.
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B-1265
June 2015
Introduction
It takes tough plants to do well in Wyoming’s harsh climate and diverse landscape. This guidebook is meant to help the more-than-casual observer of nature identify the most important and common plant species on Wyoming’s rangelands. We have included many of the grasses, grass-likes, forbs, and woody plants vital to both wildlife and domestic livestock. Unfortunately, some areas of Wyoming’s rangeland are dominated by the non-native, invasive cheatgrass, and we have included it and a few other undesirable plant species.
Beside the photos of each of the 75 plants covered, we also included information on preferred habitat, forage value, and the physical, diagnostic characteristics that help distinguish each plant species. Flower and leaf shape, color, and leaf arrangement are the best clue to a plant’s identity in many cases. A glossary explains some of the specialized botany terms used to keep the descriptions concise.
There are many excellent resources available if the contents of this book capture your interest and you want to learn more. There were an estimated 5,000 species of vascular plants in the Rocky Mountain region fifty-one years ago. Currently, the University of Wyoming’s Rocky Mountain Herbarium has over 700,000 vascular plant specimen distribution records from the Rocky Mountains and western North America. The Wyoming checklist of plants can be downloaded from its website and is 165 pages long! Like the authors of the guidebook, you will probably find that, once you start to learn about the flora and fauna of Wyoming, it becomes a lifelong habit.
Table of Contents
GRASSES
10
10
GRASSES | 11
GRASSES | 11
12
GRASSES | 13
14
GRASSES | 15
16
GRASSES | 17
18
GRASSES | 19
20
GRASSES | 21
22
GRASSES | 23
24
GRASSES | 25
26
GRASSES | 27
28
GRASSES | 29
30
GRASSES | 31
32
GRASSES | 33
34
GRASSES | 35
36
GRASSES | 37
38
GRASSES | 39
40
GRASSES | 41
42
GRASSES | 43
44
GRASSES | 45
46
GRASSES | 47
48
GRASSES | 49
50
GRASSES | 51
52
GRASSES | 53
54
GRASSES | 55
56
GRASSES | 57
58
GRASSES | 59
60
GRASSES | 61
62
GRASSES | 63
64
GRASSES | 65
66
GRASSES | 67
68
GRASSES | 69
GRASS-likes
72
GRASS-likes | 73
74
GRASS-likes | 75
76
GRASS-likes | 77
78
GRASS-likes | 79
forbs
82
forbs | 83
84
forbs | 85
86
forbs | 87
88
forbs | 89
90
forbs | 91
92
forbs | 93
94
forbs | 95
96
forbs | 97
98
forbs | 99
100
forbs | 101
102
forbs | 103
104
forbs | 105
106
forbs | 107
108
forbs | 109
110
forbs | 111
112
forbs | 113
114
forbs | 115
116
forbs | 117
118
forbs | 119
120
forbs | 121
122
forbs | 123
124
forbs | 125
woody plants
128
woody plants | 129
130
woody plants | 131
132
woody plants | 133
134
woody plants | 135
136
woody plants | 137
138
woody plants | 139
140
woody plants | 141
142
woody plants | 143
144
woody plants | 145
146
woody plants | 147
148
woody plants | 149
150
woody plants | 151
152
woody plants | 153
154
woody plants | 155
156
woody plants | 157
158
woody plants | 159
160
woody plants | 161
162
woody plants | 163
164
woody plants | 165
Glossary
glossary
glossary | 167
168
USDA Plants Database (plants.usda.gov)
A Field Guide to Wyoming Grasses. 2010. Quentin D. Skinner. ISBN 978-0615387628
Vascular Plants of Wyoming. 2001. Robert R. Dorn. University of Wyoming Publishing
Wildflowers of Wyoming. 2004. Diantha States and Jack States. ISBN 978-0878424962
North American Wildland Plants. 2011. James Stubbendieck, Stephan L. Hatch and Neal M. Bryan. ISBN 978-0803234857
A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers: Northern Arizona and New Mexico to British Columbia. 1998. ISBN 978-0395936139
Weeds of the West. 2006. Tom D. Whitson. ISBN 978-0756711825
Plants of the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains. 1999. Gary E. Larson, James R. Johnson and Mary Brashier. ISBN 978-0913062050
Plants of the Rocky Mountains. 1998. Linda J. Kershaw, Jim Pojar and Paul Alaback. ISBN 978-1551050881
Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains. 1999. James Johnson. ISBN 978-0913062067
Plants of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. 2001. Richard J. Shaw. ISBN 978-0970206701
Other resources | 169
Other good resources