Trees
Gambel oak
The scrub oak of the Wasatch foothills, growing in thickets rather than as single trees.
Bigtooth maple
The maple behind the red and orange on Utah's fall hillsides.
Bigtooth maple, also called canyon maple, is the common native maple of Utah's foothills and mountains. USU Extension says it gives Logan Canyon and other Utah canyons their outstanding fall color, usually bright orange-red to red.
The leaves have three to five broad lobes and grow in opposite pairs. In fall it carries paired, winged seeds shaped like a U. It can grow as a shrub or a small to medium tree, and handles Utah's alkaline soils better than many introduced maples.
Seeing it
Fall color depends on elevation and the year; check current reports before a drive.
Places the sources name
- Logan Canyon
More plants · Foothills and canyons
Shrubs
Big sagebrush
The gray-green shrub of Utah's open valleys and basins, and essential to sage grouse.