Plants

The wide open lands of Wupatki National Monument may seem barren to those more familiar with lush forests and prairie grasslands but this area does support a large number of plants which are well-adapted to the semi-arid environment. The gray-green foliage which characterizes much of the landscape absorbs less heat than the dark green leaves found in wetter and cooler areas. Many of the leaves are small to reduce water loss; others have a thick waxy coating. Succulent plants store water in their leaves or in their stems. Desert plants have either extensive shallow root systems that quickly absorb the occasional rainfall or very deep roots that tap water sources far below the soil surface.

Small shrubs, grasses, as well as annual and perennial flowering plants dominate this dry ecosystem. Evergreen species such as One-seed Juniper and Mormon Tea stand out in the winter months and different wildflowers can be seen throughout the year depending on the timing and amount of rainfall.

For a more complete list of plants in the monument, visit the Southwest Biodiversity page here.

Thank you for helping us protect these fragile resources by leaving all natural materials where you find them.

 

×

Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

---

Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

---

Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

---

Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

×

List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Wupatki National Monument

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

 

Cactus often start blooming in April and May and can have pink or yellow flowers.

NPS

Commonly Seen Plant Species of Wupatki

Cactus:

Whipple Cholla (Cylindropuntia whipplei)
Pink-flower Hedgehog (Echinocereus fendleri)
Prickly Pear (Opuntia polyacantha)

 

Winter months show grasses in their dormant form, yellow and often still with seeds.

NPS

Grasses:

Indian Rice Grass (Achnatherum hymenoides)
Purple Three-awn (Aristida pupurea var. fendleriana)
Side-Oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
Black Grama (Bouteloua eriopoda)
Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
Fluff Grass (Dasyochloa pulchella)
Squirreltail (Elymus elymoides subs. brevifolius)
Needle-andThread grass (Hesperostipa comata)
Bush Muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri)
Alkali Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides)

 

Apache Plume blooming in front of the Wupatki visitor center in April.

NPS

Shrubs and Sub-shrubs:

Sand Sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia)
Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens)
Shadescale Saltbush (Atriplex confertrifolia)
Green Rabbitbrush (chrysothamnus viscidiflorus)
Torrey's Joint-fir (Ephedra torreyana)
Momnon Tea (Ephedra viridis)
Crispleaf Buckwheat (Eriogonum corymbosum var. glutinosum)
Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa)
Stretchberry or New Mexican Olive (Forestiera pubescens var. pubescens)
Small-head or sticky snakeweed (Gutierrezia microcephala)
Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae)
Goldenbush (Isocoma drummondii and I. pluriflora)
Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata)
Dunebroom (Parryella filifolia)
Three-leaf Sumac (Rhus aromatica var. trilobata)
Prince's Plume (Stanleya pinnata)

 

Large Juniper trees dot the landscape of Wupatki with the snow covered San Francisco Peaks of Flagstaff in the background.

NPS

Trees:

One-seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma)
Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)

 

Bright orange Globemallow blooms can often be seen on trails and next to roads in May and June.

NPS

Wildflowers:

Broad-Leaf Milkweed (Asclepias latifolia)
Freckled Milk-Vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. palans)
Whole-Leaf Indian Paintbrush (Castelleja integra)
Rose-Heath (Chaetopappa ericoides)
Yellow-Spine Thistle (Cirsium ochrocentrum)
Coulter's Wrinklefruit (Clerodendrum coulteri)
Western Tansy-Mustard (Descurainia pinnata)
Hoary Tansyaster (Dieteria canescens var. ambigua)
Red-Dome Blanketflower (Gaillardia pinnatifida)
Mock Vervain (Glandularia bipinnatifida)
Arizona Skeleton Plant (Lygodesmia grandiflora var. arizonica)
Desert Dandilion (Malacothrix torreyi)
White-Stem Blazingstar (Mentzelia albicaulis)
Desert Tobacco (Nicotiana obtusifolia)
Tufted Evening Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa)
Notch-Leaf Scorpion-Weed (Phacelia welshii)
Red-Whisker Clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra)
Green-stem Paperflower (Psilostrophe sparsiflora)
Silver-Leaf Nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium)
Small-Leaf Globemallow (Sphaeralcea parvifolia)
Rocky Mountain Zinnia (Zinnia grandiflora)