Trip
report and species lists - Grand Canyon/Zion trip, May
2004
by
Patricia Corry
Photos
by David Vandermast, Amanda Senft, Jingyun Fang, Lee Anne
Jacobs, Pat Corry, and Sarah Holley
The participants of
this informal phytogeographical excursion to the
Colorado Plateau were: Dr. Jingyun Fang, a visiting botany professor from Beijing,
and UNC-CH plant ecology grad students Lee Anne
Jacobs, Amanda
Senft, Pat Corry, and
Dave
Vandermast. Unlike the 2001 PEL Big Bend field
trip whose participants acquired colorful appellations such as “Lizard Crusher”,
“Freak Daddy”, and “Sex Machine”, most of us did not acquire nicknames during
this trip. The exception was Amanda. Early in the trip when she made some sort
of minor, reasonable request, Dave started teasing her about being “demanding”.
He dubbed her “Demanda”, and the name stuck.
Wed.
May 5
We flew into
Stop
near MP 225 on I-17, N. of Phoenix
West-facing slope of rocky volcanic hills, roughly 800-900m
elevation. Most spp listed were in bloom,
including saguaro
and ocotillo.
*
= exotic sp.
Trees:
Yellow
paloverde tree (Cercidium microphyllum)
Shrubs:
Creosote
(Larrea tridentata)
Brittlebush
(Encelia
sp.)
Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)
Cacti:
Saguaro
(Carnegiea
gigantea)
Cane
cholla (Opuntia
spinosior)
Teddybear
cholla (Opuntia
bigelovii)
Fishhook
cactus (Mammillaria microcarpa)
Barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii)
Herbs:
*Filaree (Erodium cicutarium)
Fauna:
Gambel’s
quail,
chipmunk (golden-mantled ground squirrel?)
Other
notes:
Fang discovers cactus spines.
We left I-17 and took
the scenic route to
Stop
along Hwy 179 ~3 mi. S. of Sedona
Pinyon-juniper
woodland in redrock canyon country near Mogollon Rim, ~1400m elevation.
Trees:
Juniper
(Juniperus
sp)
Shrubs:
Snakeweed
(Gutierrezia
sarothrae)
Red
barberry (Berberis haematocarpa)
Manzanita
(Arctostaphylos
pungens)
Cacti:
Prickly
pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii)
Herbs:
Desert
globemallow (Sphaeralcea
sp., probably ambigua)
Groundsel (Senecio sp)
Eaton’s
penstemon (Penstemon eatonii)
Milkvetch (Astragalus sp, probably desperatus)
Fauna:
lizards
Hike
up West
Fork of Oak Creek Canyon
This was a nice streamside hike in a redrock canyon of the Mogollon Rim, ~1700m elevation. The canyon bottom had beautiful scattered stands of old-growth Ponderosa pine and carpets of bracken fern and wildflowers. Near the trailhead is an old settlement with many exotic spp.
Near
trailhead/settlement:
*Tree
of heaven (Ailanthus)
*Myrtle
(Vinca
major)
*Lilac
(Syringa)
*Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus)
In
canyon:
Trees:
Ponderosa
pine (Pinus
ponderosa) (some >1 m diam.)
Douglas
fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Arizona
sycamore (Platanus wrightii)
Bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum)
Box
elder (Acer negundo)
Velvet
ash (Fraxinus velutina)
Gambel
oak (Quercus
gambelii)
Shrubs
& Vines:
Thimbleberry/New
Mexican Raspberry (Rubus neomexicanus)
Black
chokecherry (Prunus serotina)
Red-osier
dogwood (Cornus
stolonifera)
Wild
grape (Vitis
arizonica)
Herbs:
Bracken
fern (Pteridium
aquilinum) (common; dense
stands)
Horsetails
(2 spp: Equisetum arvense,
E. hyemale)
Unk.
native bunchgrass
Unk.
sedge (Carex sp)
Poison
ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
Groundsel
(Senecio sp
- same sp seen at earlier stop)
Western
wallflower (Erysimum capitatum)
Phacelia
sp
Violet
(white) (Viola
canadensis)
False
Solomon’s seal (Smilacina racemosa)
Fendler’s
meadow rue (Thalictrum fendleri)
Lupine (Lupinus
sp.-- palmeri?)
Monkeyflower
(Mimulus guttatus)
Chickweed
(Stellaria
sp)
Draba
(Draba asprella)
Valerian
(Valeriana
edulis)
Fauna:
several spp of lizards; Northern flicker, hairy
woodpecker, Williamson’s sapsucker, black phoebes feeding near stream, ravens,
hummingbirds; bizarre bird call (loud eh-eh-eh-eh, almost like sheep baahing).
In the evening we
headed into
Thurs.
May 6
In the morning we
visited Sinaguan cliff dwellings (occupied ca.
1100-1250 A.D.) in a botanically-diverse canyon in pinyon-juniper woodland at ~2040m elevation. The rim of
Trees:
Pinyon
pine (Pinus
edulis)
Juniper:
at least 2 spp: alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana) and
Gambel
oak (Quercus
gambelii)
Ponderosa
pine (Pinus
ponderosa)
Douglas
fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Shrubs:
Fernbush
(Chamaebatiaria
millefolium)
Buckwheat
(Eriogonum
sp)
Snakeweed
(Gutierrezia
sarothrae)
Wax
currant (Ribes
cereum)
Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos
parishii)
Wolfberry
(Lycium pallidum)
Rabbitbrush
(Chrysothamnus
nauseosus)
Cliffrose
(Cowania mexicana var.
stansburiana)
Mountain
mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus)
Sagebrush
(Artemisia sp-- small shrub, silvery
leaves-- not tridentata)
Cacti:
Pricklypear/Grizzly
bear cactus (Opuntia erinacea)
Claret
cup (Echinocereus triglochidiatus)
Herbs:
Blue
grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis)
several
unk. bunchgrasses
*Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)
*Ripgut
brome (Bromus
diandrus)
Banana
yucca (Yucca baccata)
Rockmat
(Petrophylum
caespitosum)
Wheeler
thistle (Cirsium wheeleri)
Groundsel
(Senecio sp
- same sp seen at Oak Creek Cyn)
Indian
paintbrush (Castilleja sp-- probably chromosa)
Purple locoweed (Oxytropis lambertii)
Fendler’s meadow rue (Thalictrum fendleri)
Bedstraw
(Galium
sp)
Fleabane
(Erigeron oreophilus)
Penstemon
sp (not flowering)
*Horehound
(Marrubium
vulgare)
*Filaree (Erodium cicutarium)
Fauna:
Lizards,
including an interestingly
pigmented species that seems to have a wide geographic range, as we
saw it throughout the trip; male hummingbirds (probably rufous) doing aerial displays; violet-green swallows, canyon
wrens, ravens, turkey vultures.
We drove back into
Flag and stocked up on groceries and gas, then headed for the Canyon. We had a
nice view of the snow-covered San
Francisco Peaks from the north side.
South
Rim of
We arrived mid-day and
set
up our tents in Mather Campground, then proceeded
to Yavapai Point for a look at the Canyon. I was leading the charge to the
viewpoint when a huge snake dashed across the trail right under my foot. It
wasn’t a rattler but it still startled me because I so nearly stepped on it,
which wouldn’t have done the snake any good, and also would have usurped Dane
Kuppinger’s reputation as PEL’s chief herp-crusher. It was a
bull snake, about 4 ½ - 5 feet long. After admiring the snake awhile, we looked
at the
Canyon (first
sight of it for Amanda, Fang, and Dave), and people seemed duly
impressed. We had lunch on the Rim
and posed for a group
photo.
We spent the rest of the day walking along the Rim. Down below we could see the Bright Angel and Plateau Point trails that we would hike tomorrow. We didn’t do much botanizing,
