General overview: This is a partial list of some of the more familiar plants of the Four Corners region and is not intended to be exhaustive (i.e. there are over 200 documented plant species in Hawkins Preserve).
A word on taxonomy: Plants with many shared characteristics are organized into families. From there, plants within a family that share additional traits are further subdivided into a genus. Finally, a plant with unique characteristics within a genus have an individual or species name.
The scientific name (Latin binomial: Genus and species) is used by botanists rather than their common names because common names are usually specific to a single region, whereas the scientific name is recognizable worldwide and is a more reliable name. The Latin binomial usually refers to a characteristic of the plant, for example the plant Yucca angustissima where Yucca refers to the Genus of yucca plants within the Asparagus family and angustissima means narrow or narrowleaf. However, there are several common names for this plant depending on where you are: narrowleaf yucca, Kanab yucca, Toft’s yucca, or yucca. Another example is Rosa woodsii where Rosa is a rose and woodsii refers to the botanist Joseph Woods.
On the plant identification signs we provide the common name for our region, the scientific name in parentheses, the common family name, and the scientific family name in parentheses. We encourage the use of scientific names.
For more information click on the scientific name, which will open a window on the plant’s natural history as well as its common human uses. For a downloadable Hawkins plant list click Hawkins-Preserve-Plant-List.
For additional information go to http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com, a local source of in-depth information.
Four Corners Plants
| Scientific name | Common name | Family | Location | Photos ©Al Schneider, www.swcoloradowildflowers.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achillia millifolium | Yarrow | Sunflower family (Asteraceae) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Artemesia tridentata | Big sagebrush | Sunflower family (Asteraceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Bouteloua Gracilis | Blue grama grass | Grass family (Poaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Bouteloua curtipendula | Sideoats grama grass | Grass family (Poaceae) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Chamaebatiaria millefolium | Fernbush | Rose family (Rosaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Cylindropuntia imbricata | Tree cholla | Cactus family (Cactacea) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Cylindropuntia whipplei | Whipple's cholla | Cactus family (Cactacea) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Echinocereus mojavensis | Claretcup cactus | Cactus family (Cactacea) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Ephedra viridis | Green Morman tea | Ephedra family (Ephedraceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Ericameria nauseosa | Rubber rabbitbrush | Sunflower family (Asteraceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Eriogonum umbellatum | Sulfurflower | Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Fallugia paradoxa | Apache plume | Rose family (Rosaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Gutierrezia sarothrae | Broom snakeweed | Sunflower family (Asteraceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Juniperus osteosperma | Utah juniper | Cypress family (Cupessaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Hesperostipa comata | Needle and Thread | Grass family (Poaceae) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Heterotheca villosa | Hairy Golden Aster | Sunflower Family (Asteraceae) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Lycium pallidum | Wolfberry | Nightshade Family (Solanaceae) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Opuntia phaeacantha | Brown-spined Prickly Pear | Cactus family (Cactacea) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Opuntia polyacantha | Plains Pricklypear | Cactus family (Cactacea) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Pinus edulis | Pinon pine | Pine family (Pinaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Purshia tridentata | Antelope bitterbrush | Rosaceae (Rose family) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Robinia neomexicana | New Mexico locust | Fabaceae (Pea family) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Rosa woodsii | Wood's rose | Rose family (Rosaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Rhus_aromatica | Aromatic Sumac | Sumac Family (Anacardiacea) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Sarcobatus vermiculatus | Greasewood | Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae) | Hawkins Preserve |  |
| Yucca angustissima | Narrowleaf yucca | Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center |  |
| Yucca beccata | Banana yucca | Asparagus family (Asparagaceae) | Cortez Cultural Center & Hawkins Preserve |  |
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Al Schneider, Dean Palmquist, and the City of Cortez for help acquiring the signs at Hawkins Preserve and the Cortez Cultural Center Plaza.
