WILD
FLOWERS
of
Zion and Bryce Canyon
NATIONAL PARKS
and
Cedar Breaks
NATIONAL MONUMENT
Text and Color Photographs by
CARL E. JEPSON
Chief Park Naturalist
and
LELAND F. ALLEN
Park Naturalist
Published and Copyright 1958
by
ZION-BRYCE NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION
in cooperation with the
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
UTAH
INTRODUCTION
In these areas of Zion andBryce Canyon National Parksand Cedar Breaks NationalMonument, four life zones arefound extending from low elevationsof near 3,600 feet toextremes of over 11,300 feet.The area within elevationsfrom the lowest point to 4,000feet is the Lower SonoranZone; above that to 7,000 feetis the Upper Sonoran Zone;from 7,000 to 8,500 feet is theTransition Zone; above that to 10,000 feet is the CanadianZone; and from 10,000 feet to the highest point onBrian Head Peak is the Hudsonian Zone.
Native plants typical of desert, mesa and mountaingrow within these extremes of elevation and include awide variety of species. Of the three areas featured,Cedar Breaks National Monument contains the greatestvariety, and frequently exhibits marvelous displays, dependingon the amount of rainfall from year to year.
The purpose of this booklet is to help visitors intheir enjoyment of the flowers they find along the roadwaysand trails—flowers they observe, appreciate andprobably photograph but leave UNPICKED for thepleasure of others.
Through the mediums of color photography andcolor lithography one hundred and six species of wildflowers and plants most commonly seen are presentedin closeup detail as an aid to identification. Brief descriptionsof size, habitat, blooming period, use, economicvalue and other details are given.
The flowers have been arranged in a general orderof families, except that occasionally, for the convenience2of preparing the color plates, flowers of similar color ordensity have been grouped on a page although they arenot in the same family nor closely related.
The Standardized Plant Names of the AmericanJoint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature hasbeen followed as the guide. In case of locally used commonnames, such has been indicated in the text.
This booklet on Wild Flowers has been producedby the Zion-Bryce Natural History Association in cooperationwith the National Park Service. The Associationhas for its objective the fuller interpretation of thescenic, scientific, aesthetic and historic values of theseNational Parks, to the end that park visitors are providedwith such information, audio and visual aids aswill help them gain a better understanding and greaterappreciation of the phenomena they find in them.
It is hoped that this brief treatise on the flora mayprove helpful to many visitors in learning more aboutsome of the important species of plant life that theymay discover during their visits to the Zion and BryceCanyon