Trees
Limber pine
A slow-growing native pine of harsh mountain sites, with five needles in each bundle.
Blue spruce
A Utah native whose sharp, four-sided needles can be green as well as blue.
Blue spruce is native to Utah and the Rocky Mountain region, and is also familiar as a planted landscape tree. Its name can mislead: Utah State University notes that wild trees are as often green as blue. Color alone does not identify this spruce.
The needles attach singly, point outward around the twig and have sharp tips and four-sided cross-sections. The light-brown cones hang down and have papery scales. USU describes a preference for moisture and good soil, with extreme heat and hot, dry winds presenting difficulties.
Seeing it
Observe the needle arrangement and hanging cones without damaging the tree. A planted specimen is not evidence of a wild stand at that location.
More plants · Mountain forest
Trees
Douglas-fir
A native mountain conifer whose hanging cones have distinctive three-pointed bracts.