Plains or Broadleaf Cottonwood
Populus sargentii
The Plains or broadleaf cottonwood is also the largest broadleaf tree of
Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. This tree grows from the eastern
plains to 6500 feet in elevation, and possibly higher in canyons of the
eastern slope of Colorado.
Narrowleaf Cottonwood
Populus angustifolia
The Narrowleaf can grow to 60 feet in height and 3 feet trunk diameter, but
rarely is more than 2 feet in diameter. The branches tend to be more erect
than the spreading thick limbs of the Plains cottonwood. The branches of the
Narrowleaf cottonwood are more slender than those of Plains cottonwood,
often with smooth pale bark, while the Plains cottonwood has gray furrowed
bark right out to the twigs.
The Quaking Aspen of the Rocky Mountains
Populus tremuloides
Aspen is the distinctive slender broadleaf
tree of the Rocky Mountain mountain
forests, renowned for its golden autumn
foliage. It grows in locations from 6500
to 11000 feet in elevation, usually in
groves, often in moist sites, and can
reach treeline. Aspen sprouts will shoot
up from roots quickly and vigorously in
cut or burned areas, and Aspen is one of
the important pioneer species in the
Rocky Mountains.
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa
Ponderosa pine is one of the
best-known trees of the
American West, and covers a
more extensive area than any
other American cone-bearing
tree.
Pinyon pine
Pinus edulis
Pinyon-juniper woodlands are one of the most common forests in the
arid west. Widespread across parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,
Utah, Nevada, and California, the pinyon - juniper woodlands cover
150,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of Colorado
Sandbar Willow
It is a deciduous shrub
reaching 4–7 meters in
height, spreading by root
sprouts to form dense clonal
colonies. The leaves are
narrow lanceolate, 4–12 cm
long and 2–10 mm broad,
green, to grayish with silky
white hairs at least when
young; the margin is entire
or with a few irregular,
widely spaced small teeth.
Willows always occur near or
in water and thus are an
important riparian species.
Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Virginia creeper or five-leaved
ivy (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is
a woody vine native to eastern and
central North America, in
southeastern Canada, the eastern
and central United States. It is an
exotic species in Colorado.
Locust
Gleditsia triacanthos
Asteraceae-the sunflower family
Sunflower
Erigeron sp.
The structure commonly referred to as the
flower head is a agglomeration of many small
flowers.
Woolly or Common Mullein
Verbascum thapsus
It is a hairy biennial plant that can grow to 2 m or more tall. Its small
yellow flowers are densely grouped on the tall stem, which bolts from
a large rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, but
prefers well-lit disturbed soils, where it can appear soon after the
ground receives light, from long-lived seeds that persist in the soil
seed bank.
Russian Olive
Elaeagnus angustifolia
It is a usually thorny shrub or small tree growing to 5-7 m in
height. Its stems, buds, and leaves have a dense covering of
silvery to rusty scales. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 4-9
cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad, with a smooth margin
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants
characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins,
mostly in the plant family Asteraceae
Animals
Animals
Animals
aphids