Trees
Limber pine
A slow-growing native pine of harsh mountain sites, with five needles in each bundle.
Utah wildlife and plants
The animals and plants of Utah's mountain forests, red-rock desert, sagebrush valleys and Great Salt Lake wetlands.
Get to know Utah through the animals and plants that live here. Browse the 63 profiles by habitat or region, compare a species' seasonal habits, and follow the linked agency and university sources when you want to learn more. Start with the landscape you expect to visit, then narrow the list to wildlife or plants.
This is an introduction, not a complete inventory or a field-identification key. A region label describes the range or location a profile's sources support; it does not promise a sighting. Seasonal notes describe general patterns, and we don't publish exact sites for nests, roosts, colonies or rare plants. Check the land manager's current access information separately before a trip.
Choose a way in
- I saw something and want to learn about it.Search a common or scientific name below. If you don't know the name, start with a broad group and habitat, then compare the profile's details rather than relying on color alone.
- I'm planning a nature walk.Choose a region and habitat, and read a few profiles before you leave. Keep expectations flexible: a quiet walk is still a chance to notice plants, tracks and the way habitats connect.
- I'm looking for wildflowers.Start with the wildflower planning guide, then use the plant profiles. Flowering windows are broad patterns, not a bloom forecast.
- I'm visiting with children or a new observer.Pick one plant and one animal to learn about. Make the goal careful observation, not finding every species on a checklist.
Learn the landscape
A seasonal comparison makes a familiar landscape easier to read. At Arches, rainfall strongly shapes the wildflower display; at Cedar Breaks, high meadows bloom through a short summer. Those are local examples of why one statewide "best week" would mislead. Try the mountain and desert habitats, then the spring and summer pages.
Each profile answers three separate questions: what the organism is, what habitat or range its sources support, and what a visitor can responsibly observe. Conservation labels are shown with their category, scope and date, because a federal listing, a state priority list and a native-or-introduced label answer different questions.
New: guides to 7 habitats, four seasons and watching well, with the profiles that belong together.
Plants
Trees
Douglas-fir
A native mountain conifer whose hanging cones have distinctive three-pointed bracts.
File photo: White quaking aspen trunks beneath yellow autumn leaves — Little Cottonwood Canyon, September 2005. Photo: Scott Catron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Trees
Quaking aspen
Utah's state tree forms bright mountain groves whose separate trunks can share an underground root system.
Photo: National Park Service · Public domain · National Park Service
File photo: Leafy Gambel oak branches in a canyon — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Trees
Gambel oak
A thicket-forming native oak that links Utah's foothills with mountain woodlands and provides important wildlife food and cover.
File photo: Scale-like Utah juniper foliage and round cones — Bears Ears, September 2010. Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Trees
Utah juniper
A drought-tolerant evergreen with scale-covered twigs, fibrous bark, and berry-like cones that feed wildlife.
File photo: Pinyon pine needles and cones in Arches National Park (2016-09-07 23:38:35). Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: Ponderosa pines growing among red sandstone in Gifford Canyon — Zion National Park, September 2016. Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: A green Fremont cottonwood tree beside red sandstone — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Trees
Fremont cottonwood
A broad-crowned river tree whose new generations depend on the right combination of flowing water, exposed sediment, and moisture.
Shrubs
Big sagebrush
A foundational shrub of Utah's open country, with small gray-green leaves and an outsized role in wildlife habitat.
File photo: Yellow-flowering rubber rabbitbrush above the Jordan River — Jordan River Parkway near Salt Lake City, September 2004. Photo: Cory Maylett · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Shrubs
Rubber rabbitbrush
A flexible-stemmed native shrub whose late-season yellow flowers extend feeding opportunities for pollinators.
File photo: A sego lily flower on a slender stalk above low desert vegetation — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wildflowers
Sego lily
Utah's state flower briefly lifts a three-petaled cup above open, dry-country vegetation before its aboveground growth fades.
File photo: A tuft of Indian ricegrass with airy seed heads beside red sandstone — Watchman Trail, Zion National Park, April 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Grasses
Indian ricegrass
Utah's state grass is a cool-season perennial whose airy seedheads rise from distinct clumps on dry ground.
File photo: A clump of blue grama grass in Kane County, Utah (2016-05-27 10:06). Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Grasses
Blue grama
A low native grass with sideways, eyelash-like seedheads and a growing season tied to warmth and summer moisture.
File photo: A densely branched blackbrush shrub on desert soil — Chesler Park, Canyonlands National Park, September 2010. Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: White cliffrose flowers and small green leaves against blue sky — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
File photo: A Harriman’s yucca with a flowering stalk above pointed leaves — near Bridgeland, June 2017. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wildflowers
Harriman's yucca
A low yucca with stiff, sharp leaves and bell-shaped flowers pollinated by the yucca moth.
Wildflowers
Alcove columbine
A small-flowered columbine of seeps and hanging gardens, where groundwater creates a cool refuge within the desert.
Photo: NPS / Neal Herbert · Public domain · National Park Service
Wildflowers
Sacred datura
Canyon country's largest flower, which opens in the evening, and a poisonous plant.
File photo: Pale pink tamarisk flowers and slender green foliage — Jordan River, August 2015. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Shrubs
Tamarisk
A non-native, water-loving shrub along southwestern rivers, and a target of restoration work.
Grasses
Cheatgrass
An introduced annual grass that gets a head start on native plants by sprouting in fall.
Wildflowers
Showy milkweed
A broad-leaved native perennial whose clustered flowers support pollinators and whose leaves can host monarch caterpillars.
Wildflowers
Scarlet gilia
A slender wildflower whose long trumpets rise from finely divided leaves and offer nectar to hummingbirds and other visitors.
Wildflowers
Arrowleaf balsamroot
A long-lived foothill perennial that pairs large arrow-shaped leaves with yellow flower heads and important native-bee relationships.
Shrubs
Antelope bitterbrush
A drought-tolerant shrub with small three-lobed leaves, pale yellow flowers, and a major role in winter browse.
Shrubs
Curlleaf mountain-mahogany
A slow-growing evergreen shrub or small tree with rolled leaf edges and conspicuous, feathery-tailed fruits.
Grasses
Bluebunch wheatgrass
A widespread native bunchgrass with slender upright spikes and a root system adapted to dry western landscapes.
Trees
Engelmann spruce
A high-country evergreen of cool, moist forest, recognized by single needles, scaly bark, and small hanging cones.
Wildflowers
Ute ladies'-tresses
A rare wetland orchid with a spiral of pale flowers, dependent on moist, relatively open habitat.
Wildflowers
Dwarf bear-poppy
A federally endangered Utah endemic whose white flowers and low leaf tufts belong to specialized gypsum-soil habitat.
Wildflowers
Shrubby reed-mustard
A small, federally endangered perennial restricted to specialized shale habitat in northeastern Utah.