Trees

Details of pinyon pine tree needles and cones.

Common Trees at Grand Canyon

 

Pinyon pine
Pinus edulis – Pinaceae

NPS Photo / Ty Karlovetz

Pinyon pine

Pinus edulis – Pinaceae

• Short tree, up to 45 feet (15 meters) tall
• Two needles bundled together
• Small cones produce large seeds, otherwise known as pinyon/pine nuts, which are edible and used as a food source for native people
• Depends on the Pinyon Jay to store seeds in the ground which later germinate and grow into young trees
• Makes up the pinyon-juniper woodlands that hug the rims of Grand Canyon as well as parts of the inner canyon

 

Utah Juniper
Juniperus osteosperma – Cupressaceae

NPS Photo / Michael Quinn

Utah Juniper

Juniperus osteosperma – Cupressaceae

• Short tree, up to 20 feet (6 meters) tall
• Twisted and gnarled trunks
• Scale-like needles with blue-gray berries which are the female cones
• Makes up the pinyon-juniper woodland that covers the Southwest high elevation deserts.
• Seeds (berries) spread via birds and coyotes who eat them and deposit them through waste
• Served as fuel for fire, building material, medicine, and food for native peoples

 

Ponderosa pine
Pinus ponderosa – Pinaceae

NPS Photo / Ty Karlovetz

Ponderosa pine

Pinus ponderosa – Pinaceae

• Tall tree, up to 200 feet (60 meters) tall
• Thick trunks with scaled bark; can be known to smell like vanilla or butterscotch
• Two to five needles bundled together
• Cylindrical cones which shed seeds over 2 years of maturity
• Prefer a natural burn cycle of 5 to 25 year; fire helps to burn surface uel and create a more open forest for trees to survive

 

Douglas Fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii – Pinaceae

NPS Photo / Robb Hannawacker

Douglas Fir

Pseudotsuga menziesii – Pinaceae

• Evergreen tree that can grow up to 130 feet (40 meters)
• Branches appear to droop, and its needles are short and flat
• Small cones hang downward and have paper like bracts between the scales, which look like mouse tails running into the cones
• Not a true fir!
• Grows at high elevations and in cooler, north-facing slopes, like on the South Rim

 

Gambel oak
Quercus gambelii – Fagaceae

NPS Photo / E. Gelfat

Gambel oak

Quercus gambelii – Fagaceae

• Short tree, up to 40 feet (12 meters) tall
• Leaves have deep lobes that indent to the midvein of the leaf; leaves appear medium green and glossy
• Fruits come in the form of acorns, usually clustered in sets of two to three
• Flowers between April and June
• Acorns regularly used as a source of food and trunks used as building materials for native peoples
• Usually found in forests that also contain ponderosa pine

 

Fremont cottonwood
Populus fremontii – Salicaceae

NPS Photo / Michael Quinn

Fremont cottonwood

Populus fremontii – Salicaceae

• Tall tree, can grow up to 100 feet (30 meters)
• Leaves are broad and triangle shaped with tiny serrations (teeth) along the edges
• Bark is a pale tan color and has deep textured furrows
• Found in riparian areas, or places with water; generally found in the inner canyon, especially at Havasupai Gardens and Phantom Ranch
• Branches are really flexible and were used to make figurines and toys

 

Quaking aspen
Populus tremuloides – Salicaceae

NPS Photo / Robb Hannawacker

Quaking aspen

Populus tremuloides – Salicaceae

• Tall tree, up to 115 feet (35 meters)
• Deciduous tree, meaning leaves drop in the fall and become green again in the spring
• Smooth white colored bark with “eyes” along its trunk
• Small, circular, and thin leaves shake with the wind
• Leaves turn golden in the fall for a short time period
• Mostly found at high elevations, like on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon