Plant Guide to Bright Angel Trail Grand Canyon National Park Including Pictures of Most Species

(Click on pictures to get the species information pages)

Introduction and Explanation of Plant Trail Guides

Introduction
Highlights of This Trail
Fieldwork Dates and Summary of List Changes With Time
The Plant Guide
     Key to Plant Guide Information
     Introduction To The Linked Species Pages

Introduction

This plant guide has been updated from the field work on 4-6 May 2008, 22 August 2008, 24 April 2009, 3 September 2013, 23 August 2016, 27-28 August 2019, and 26-27 September 2021, as well as from iNaturalist observations through 2019, but the text of this page has not yet been updated for the numerous additions found in this later fieldwork and at iNat.

See also iNaturalist observations for the Bright Angel Trail from the Rim to Indian Gardens. Note that there is no guarantee that any identification at iNat is correct, whether it is "Research Grade" or not. Most are correct, but many are not.

Because the locations of Argemone arizonica are obscured at iNat, they won't show up in the above link. I've made separate links to all the iNat observations of this species here.

Although the following text in the Introduction, Highlights, and Fieldwork Dates has not been updated since 2007, the plant guide has been regularly updated, and is current through 2021

This is a preliminary plant trail guide to the Bright Angel Trail to mile 3.7, resulting from just two days of field work on 5-6 September 2007 in a drought year. It is therefore undoubtedly incomplete, especially for annuals and perennials, missing a number of such species that are seen only in wetter years or earlier in the year. However, it should be fairly complete for the larger shrubs and trees on the trail.

A plant trail guide gives the location of the first occurrence of every taxon (species and subspecies) found on the trail, as well as an estimate of the abundance of each taxon. It enables a botanist to know exactly where to find a given species, and gives the identification for species seen as one hikes along a trail. It is much more useful in the field than a traditional plant list by family, since the plants are seen in the trail in the order of the plant trail guide, and one doesn't have to figure out the determination from a large plant list by family.

In this plant trail guide, the common name of nearly every species is linked to a separate webpage that shows photographs taken on 5-6 September 2007. For most taxa, these photographs serve as vouchers for my determinations, allowing botanists to confirm or question my determinations. ☺

The photographs also enable armchair botanists to take a virtual tour through all the species seen those days on the trail.

Since most species were not in bloom then, the photographs in general don't look anything like the pretty pictures of flowers shown in most field guides. However, this more nearly reflects what the plants look like most of the year, and hence may actually be more beneficial for most botanists trying to identify the species on the trail.

Since I am a botanist, the photographs were taken with identification of the species in mind. Almost every species has at least one picture with an object in it that can be used as a scale to make good measurements of the lengths of the parts needed for identification. Objects used for scale are: my fingers (widths ~ 18 mm = 0.7 inches) or my thumb (width ~23 mm = 0.9 inches; thumbnail width ~16 mm = 0.6 inches); my GPS receiver (11.0 cm long x 5.2 cm wide = 4.3 x 2.0 inches); or my backpack (15 inches tall x 16.5 inches wide x ~10 inches deep = 38 x 42 x 25 cm).

As far as possible (I'd only seen fewer than half the species before), I used my knowledge of what characteristics are usually used to distinguish each species, and targeted those with my photographs. The discriminating characteristics vary tremendously between genera and families, and can range from the branching habit at the base of the plant, the characteristics of the underneath or shape or hairs of the leaf, to properties of the twigs. Sometimes, botanists even use the characteristics of the flowers, even though it often doesn't seem like it when photographers send pictures to botanists to be identified! ☺

Of course, some species do not have their identifying characteristics on display in September, so not all species will have those characteristics photographed.

Important Caveats:

• I make no guarantees at all that all the determinations (=identifications) here are correct. Although the vast majority of the determinations are probably correct, I would be surprised if there are not at least one or two misdeterminations here. It takes a number of days of fieldwork spread throughout the year, and review of the determinations by an expert, to catch some errors.

• You must pay attention to the id? column in the guide below. That column tells you how confident I am in each determination. If I indicate that a given determination has 95% confidence, as many as 5% of those determinations could be wrong.

• I am not an expert in the plants of Arizona. My expertise is in the plants of southern California; over half of the species here are entirely new to me.

Many of the determinations were based on a reasonable guess as to the correct species, or by my keying of the plants among species unfamiliar to me, or by my assuming that, if the Grand Canyon flora only lists one possible determination, then that determination is the correct one. I note that the latter approach would have resulted in an erroneous determination for Polygonum arenastrum if I had not been able to explicitly key out that species, and interested in doing so.

A key is a horrible way to identify species outside the hands of someone very familiar with a given flora. For example, only through the use of a key could an elephant be keyed as a "mouse", since keys often depend on subtle features in order to reliably discriminate species. But a key is the best means we have for discriminating species, and they work well if one is familiar with most of the species in the key. An expert in the plants of Arizona would be far less likely to make a bonehead mistake in keying out plants than an Arizona novice like me.

The reader may be amused to know that most botanists do not identify plants in the field when they are working on the flora of an area except possibly for the most common or unique species. Instead, they collect specimens, which are then pressed and dried. The specimens are then taken to a herbarium that has similar samples of all the possible identifications that have been determined by experts in those taxa. The specimens are directly compared, with the aid of a key and a microscope, to the labeled herbarium specimens to get the determination. (By the way, botanical keys are almost always made from, and for, pressed and dried specimens, which is definitely a problem at times in keying live plants.)

I collected no specimens; all my determinations have been made from my photographs and field observations. (Note that taking anything from Grand Canyon National Park is prohibited unless you have a permit to do so in your possession.) Hence the likelihood of a misdetermination is much higher than determinations made from specimens.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone who spots a mistake, or even questions a determination, would contact me so mistakes can be corrected. Additions to the guide are welcome as well, especially if documented by photographs and good locations.

In fact, if you are familiar with the species on this trail, I'd appreciate you taking a look at one species that I wasn't able to identify in its September form. This species seemed distinctive enough that I should have been able to get its determination, but I couldn't. It is: unk herb resembling Epilobium in CA, similar to Comandra umbellata ssp. pallida but with clasping leaves at mile 2.20. There are a few other unknowns that someone who is very familiar with the Grand Canyon flora might be able to recognize, but most of them will have to await springtime observations.

My determinations would not have been possible without the excellent resources available that I consulted. Many people have worked on the Grand Canyon Flora, collecting specimens, curating the specimens in herbaria, reviewing the determinations of those specimens, making the information from specimens available online, taking photographs and identifying the plants in those photographs, writing books, and synthesizing the available information in keys and floras. I am deeply grateful to all those people. I especially thank Lori Makarick, who provided the latest Grand Canyon Park Plant Checklist as well as a list of 35 species known to occur on the Bright Angel Trail. That list was helpful in quickly getting the proper determination for several species.

A reference page gives the taxa found on this trail in traditional family order. For each taxon, that page links to online references and gives detailed references to printed reference material.

A list of just the species with species pages is given here: Bright Angel Trail and South Kaibab Trail: Checklist of Species With Pictures.

Highlights of This Trail

Nearly everything was pretty exciting to me, since this was the first time I've seriously botanized anyplace outside of southern California. The following describes only a small number of the highlights of this trail.

• Most of the species were new to me. In southern California, I've seen only 32 out of the 82 identified taxa on this trail, 39% of the identified taxa. In fact, I was surprised to find so many familiar species so far away from southern California. I had thought the distance from California, combined with the very different rainfall regime, would produce a very dissimilar flora. At the Grand Canyon, half the rainfall occurs in summer, whereas in southern California essentially no rainfall occurs in summer.

• It was even more surprising to analyze the geographic distribution of the 82 identified taxa on this trail, and find 63 of them, 77%, are also found someplace in California. However, about half of those 63 are either fairly rare in California, or are found in areas of southern California that I have not botanized extensively, such as the Mojave Desert and the Desert Mountains.

  The following table gives the number of the 66 taxa native to Arizona that are found in other states (i.e., the 16 non-native taxa are now excluded from this analysis):

  State	# taxa	% taxa
  UT	61	92%
  NV	56	85%
  NM	56	85%
  CO	49	74%
  CA	47	71%
  TX	45	68%
  OK	32	48%
  OR	28	42%

  It makes perfect sense that the closest neighboring states are at the top of this list, but it is still surprising to see that so many of the taxa are also found in California and Texas. Just a bit less than half of the Arizona-native taxa are found even in far-away Oregon!

• The native species on this trail with the most restricted distribution are:

  • Argemone arizonica, Roaring Springs prickly-poppy. This is not only a Grand Canyon endemic, it is endemic to the area of the North Kaibab Trail and the Bright Angel Trail!

  • Encelia resinifera ssp. resinifera, resin brittlebush, has a very narrow distribution only in Arizona and Utah.

  • Perityle congesta, Grand Canyon rock-daisy, known only from northern Arizona and possibly Nevada. (USDA Plants says it also occurs in Nevada, but the Flora of North America only gives it in Arizona.)

  • Agave utahensis var. kaibabensis, Kaibab century plant, is only found in northern Arizona and possibly Utah. (USDA Plants says it also occurs in Utah, but the Flora of North America only gives it in Arizona.)

• It was amazing to see the abundance of blooms from Eurybia pulchra, beautiful aster, that line the trail in September. We don't have anything like that in southern California, probably due to our lack of summer rainfall. But we do have similar nice displays of Machaeranthera canescens, hoary-aster, in the fall in some areas.

  In southern California we also have good fall displays of Epilobium canum, California fuchsia, and Solidago californica, goldenrod; displays similar to those taxa are missing here. It appears that the niche of these two southern California species is abundantly filled by Eurybia pulchra on the Bright Angel Trail.

• Two taxa on this trail that I had never seen before had me shaking my head in disbelief in seeing them, until I later puzzled out the correct determination:

  • Fendlera rupicola, false mockorange, looks very similar in many respects to Philadelphus microphyllus, mockorange, and I at first took it to be that determination. But Fendlera rupicola is a taller and more upright bush, growing away from the rockpiles that Philadelphus microphyllus prefers, so I could hardly believe that this could be the same species. Fortunately, it wasn't. ☺

  • Brickellia longifolia, longleaf brickellbush, looks very similar to an Artemisia dracunculus, wild tarragon, on steroids, in appearance when it is not in bloom. The first plants I saw had no buds, and Artemisia dracunculus was the only possible name I could come up. But when I saw specimens growing out of rocks, I knew this has to be a different species, since no self-respecting Artemisia dracunculus would ever be caught dead growing in such dry conditions. ☺

    Soon afterward, I saw some buds, that clearly revealed the Brickellia persuasion of these plants. I'm very surprised the common name for this species isn't honking brickellbush!

• It was very exciting to come across two species I had long wanted to see: Gutierrezia microcephala, sticky snakeweed, and Quercus turbinella, {grey oak, Sonoran scrub oak, shrub live oak}.

  I have long looked for Gutierrezia microcephala, which is in nine floras I've digitized in southern California. I'd never seen it since it is rare outside the Mojave Desert. I couldn't believe my great good fortune to come across this species near mile 2.0. I was the hottest I'd been yet that day on the trail, in 87° heat in blazing noon-time sun, but I was incredibly happy. ☺ The blossoms checked out perfectly, with just a single ligule or two on each head, and just 1-2 disk flowers. Such tiny flowers!

  That made my day right there. ☺

  Quercus turbinella was of interest because two southern California species of scrub oaks (Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. john-tuckeri) had been confused with it until about 1980. I knew Quercus turbinella was present at the Grand Canyon, but no reference gave any locations on or near the Bright Angel Trail. I found the first specimens just a quarter-mile past the Gutierrezia microcephala. They did indeed look somewhat similar to our two southern California scrub oak species in habit and leaves, but the leaves weren't nearly as hairy underneath. The main difference is on the peduncle length, with Q. turbinella having a much-longer peduncle.

• It is just as interesting sometimes to note what is not on a trail, as to note what is on a trail. For this trail, ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, is present on the South Rim just feet away from the trailhead, but no specimens of this species are found on the trail.

Fieldwork Dates and Summary of List Changes With Time

The following table gives the dates the trail was walked and taxa recorded. After each visit, the table gives the total number of taxa on the list and the breakdown of the taxa without positive identification. See Explanation of Plant Trail Guides to understand the symbols below.

Visit Date	Visit #	# taxa	# "?"	# "sp"	# "~"	# "ssp"
9/5/2007	1	67	1	7	17	3
9/6/2007	2	93	5	9	23	3

The fieldwork on 9/5/07 was to the 1.5 mile resthouse at mile 1.58; the fieldwork on 9/6/07 was to mile 3.73.

We thank Denise Hudson for help with the fieldwork on 5 May 2008.

We thank Adrienne Ballwey and Mike Crouse for help with the survey of the first 0.80 miles on 3 September 2013.

The Plant Guide

Three genera with species that are difficult to properly determine have multiple species each claimed to be on this trail, not all of which are given in the Guide. See Family Order Flora of the Upper Bright Angel Trail: Notes On Some Problematic Taxa.

Key to Plant Guide Information

Mile: It is like a car odometer. Mile 0.00 includes all mileages from 0.000 to 0.009; 0.01 includes all mileages from 0.010 to 0.019, etc. 0.01 mile is 18 yards = 53 feet, about 18-20 normal-size paces.

Note that species separated by a difference of 0.01 mile in the guide could actually be fairly close together, with the odometer "rolling over" between them. Example: one species is at 1.599 miles, reported as 1.59 miles in the guide, and the next species is at 1.601 miles, reported as 1.60 miles in the guide. The species are actually just 0.002 miles = 10 feet apart. They could also be almost 0.02 miles apart. Example: one species is at 1.601 miles and the next is at 1.619 miles.

The mileage is incredibly accurate in this guide. The Bright Angel Trail is, as far as I know, the most-accurately surveyed trail in the world. See Pedometer Accuracy. In the plant guide here, I have tied all my pedometer readings to the Control Points (CP in the guide below) from the Bradford Washburn et al publication referenced in that webpage. All the reported elevations also come from that publication.

Since most people walk without a pedometer or a GPS to give them their rough mileage, enough landmarks are included in the guide that it is not necessary to pay much attention to the mileage. It is mainly useful in telling the reader when there are long intervals without new species, or when new species come fast and furious.

Note that GPS receivers are almost useless in some parts of the trail, due to satellite signals reflected from the abundant rocks (multipath problem) and/or low sky visibility. Be very wary about believing the trip mileage given by a GPS receiver.

S: Side of trail on which the first occurrence is found: left, right, both, or center

#: On-trail species are numbered in order of first occurrence on trail (easily touchable from the trail). Off-trail species are in parentheses.

id?: Species without an entry in this column are quite confidently identified. "?" means I am just guessing the identification; "sp" means the genera is probably known, but the species name is uncertain even when a potential species name is given in the guide; "~" means I have roughly 95% confidence that this is the determination, but have not yet positively identified it; "ssp" means the subspecies or variety needs to be determined.

(*)Common Name: An asterisk before the common name indicates a species that is non-native to the Grand Canyon, and hence should not be here. The Common Name is linked to a separate page for each species giving photographs and further information about some species. The Common Name in many cases has been taken from my southern California database for expediency. If you know of a better common name used at the Grand Canyon, please let me know.

Note that common names are not standardized, and more than one taxa can have the same common name.

Scientific Name: This is the name used to uniquely identify a species by botanists, which enables one to confidently look up more information about each species. The names in this guide have been made consistent with those used by iNaturalist as of 12 September 2021. Scientific names have been changing furiously in the last several years at iNat, so some names may have been updated since 12 September 2021. Fortunately, iNat retains knowledge of previous names, so you can still search for an older name there.

The separate linked pages for some species still are in the system of the latest Grand Canyon flora online. Synonyms (older, newer, or alternate Scientific Names) are given in the page linked to the common name, usually via the USDA Plants link.

#Plants: This gives the minimum number of on-trail plants of this species on this trail, with the number of locations on this trail following the /, using maximum values of 99/9. A value of 1/1 means I only found a single plant in a single location in the entire trail; 10/9 means 10 plants occurring in at least 9 locations, etc. Very common taxa are generally given as 50/9 or 99/9, with the 99/9 species being significantly more abundant than the 50/9 species.

Introduction To The Linked Species Pages

Many species in the plant trail guide have additional information given on a separate page that is linked from the Common Name field below. The additional information includes:

Characteristics: This section begins with Identification status, which gives a discussion of how confident I am in the determination. The identification and other characteristics of each species are discussed. The explicit keying is given in some cases.

Some species have additional discussion about the species in the Grand Canyon and/or elsewhere.

The information given in the guide below about the location and number of plants is repeated on each species page.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of time it took me to make a full species page, some species have just the pictures and reference information on the species pages, without the additional information mentioned above.

Pictures: Pictures of each species taken on the Bright Angel Trail are presented, often with the identification characteristics explicitly pointed out.

References: References are given to 13 sources, including links to online references and page numbers for printed references.

Other pages with links to pictures and descriptions of these species

• Family Order Flora of the Upper Bright Angel Trail with links to the SEINet page on each taxon.

• Bright Angel Trail and South Kaibab Trail: Checklist of Species With Pictures from our fieldwork, for 77 taxa.

• iNaturalist observations for the Bright Angel Trail from the Rim to Indian Gardens. Note that there is no guarantee that any identification at iNat is correct, whether it is "Research Grade" or not. Most are correct, but many are not.

  Because the locations of Argemone arizonica are obscured at iNat, they won't show up in the above link. I've made separate links to all the iNat observations of this species here.

• Older Version of Flora of the Upper Bright Angel, S. Kaibab and Grandview Trails from our field work and from vouchers, with links to the SEINet page on each taxon, for 369 taxa.

Version for printing, without lines and other text on this page: html (8 pages) or pdf Clickbook booklet (2 double-sided pages). (See printing instructions for an explanation of these options)

Mile	S	#	id?	(*)Common Name	Scientific Name	#Pls
0.00				Begin guide at signed Trailhead north of West Rim Drive bus stop, north of the mule corral; CP "S. Rim", elevation 6845 feet (2086 m), in Kaibab Limestone, thickness 350 feet here
0.00	b	1		two-needle pinyon pine	Pinus edulis	50 / 9
0.00	l	2		pinyon pine dwarf-mistletoe	Arceuthobium divaricatum	2 / 2
0.00	b	3		desert gooseberry	Ribes velutinum	99 / 9
0.00	b	4		whisky currant	Ribes cereum var. pedicellare	99 / 9
0.00	b	5		hoary-aster	Dieteria canescens	50 / 9
0.00	b	6		Wright's thelypody	Thelypodium wrightii	10 / 3
0.00	r	7		*common mallow	Malva neglecta	10 / 2
0.00	b	8		*downy brome	Bromus tectorum	99 / 9
0.00	r	9		Gambel oak	Quercus gambelii	50 / 9
0.00	b	10		smooth spreading four o'clock	Mirabilis oxybaphoides	50 / 9
0.00	r	11		*knotweed	Polygonum arenastrum	5 / 2
0.00	r	12		*herb sophia	Descurainia sophia	99 / 9
0.00	r	13		*crossflower	Chorispora tenella	99 / 9
0.00	r	14		common pepper-grass	Lepidium densiflorum	5 / 1
0.00	b	15		threadleaf common rabbitbrush	Ericameria nauseosa var. oreophila	50 / 9
0.00	r	16		snowberry	Symphoricarpos rotundifolius	99 / 9
0.00	r	17		perennial rock-cress	Boechera perennans	40 / 9
0.00	r	18		*curveseed butterwort	Ceratocephala testiculata	99 / 9
0.00	b	19		Powell's amaranth	Amaranthus powellii	20 / 2
0.00	r	20		Utah service-berry	Amelanchier utahensis	99 / 9
0.00	l	21		Utah juniper	Juniperus osteosperma	20 / 9
0.01	r			Sign: "Mesozoic Rock Formations / Kaibab Limestone"
0.01	l	22		*Russian thistle	Salsola tragus	20 / 3
0.02	b	23		*tumbling oracle	Atriplex rosea	40 / 2
0.02	l	24		*tumble pigweed	Amaranthus albus	5 / 2
0.02	b	25		matchweed	Gutierrezia sarothrae	5 / 2
0.02	r	26		littleleaf globe mallow	Sphaeralcea parvifolia	30 / 9
0.02	l	27	~	prairie sunflower	Helianthus petiolaris	1 / 1
0.02	l	28		*horehound	Marrubium vulgare	20 / 5
0.03	l	29		fern bush	Chamaebatiaria millefolium	20 / 9
0.03	r			(California brickellbush, Brickellia californica)
0.03	b	30		*foxtail barley	Hordeum murinum	99 / 9
0.04	r	31		*Klamath pepper-grass	Lepidium perfoliatum	99 / 9
0.04	b	32		California brickellbush	Brickellia californica	99 / 9
0.04	r			Jct. path from Kolb Studio
0.05	r	33		slender wheatgrass	Elymus trachycaulus	50 / 9
0.05	r	34		squirreltail	Elymus elymoides	30 / 9
0.05	r	35		*catnip	Nepeta cataria	20 / 3
0.05	r	36		Palmer's penstemon	Penstemon palmeri	10 / 2
0.05	r	37		silver wormwood	Artemisia ludoviciana	99 / 9
0.05	r	38		Virginia creeper	Parthenocissus inserta	1 / 1
0.05	r			Sign: "Bright Angel Trail and Grand Canyon Information"
0.05	r	39		Arizona thistle	Cirsium arizonicum	30 / 9
0.05				Switchback left
0.06	r	40		*London rocket	Sisymbrium irio	10 / 3
0.08	r			Sign: "When mules pass"
0.08	r	41		Fremont's goosefoot	Chenopodium fremontii	20 / 5
0.08	r			(mutton grass, Poa fendleriana)
0.09	l	42		beautiful aster	Eurybia glauca pulchra	99 / 9
0.09	l	43		Grand Canyon rock-daisy	Perityle congesta	50 / 9
0.09	r	44		mutton grass	Poa fendleriana	99 / 9
0.10	l	45		creeping barberry	Berberis repens	20 / 5
0.12	l	46		Grand Canyon Goldenweed	Ericameria arizonica	20 / 8
0.13				(View ahead of bonsai Ponderosa Pine, Pinus ponderosa, and two-needle pinyon pine, Pinus edulis, on top of ridge with tunnel)
0.14	r			(pallid hoptree, Ptelea trifoliata ssp. pallida)
0.14	r	47		pungent rabbitbrush	Ericameria nauseosa var. graveolens	1 / 1
0.15	r	48		big sagebrush	Artemisia tridentata	30 / 9
0.15				First Tunnel; Indian pictographs on rim far above trail can be seen after the tunnel
0.15	l			(Mojave prickly-pear, Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea)
0.15	r			(green ephedra, Ephedra viridis; Kaibab century plant, Agave utahensis var. kaibabensis; desert prickly-pear, Opuntia phaeacantha; far off-trail: rock spiraea, Petrophytum caespitosum)
0.16	b	49		beaked penstemon	Penstemon rostriflorus	10 / 5
0.16	l	50		Fendler's meadow-rue	Thalictrum fendleri	55 / 9
0.16	r	51		flatspine stickseed	Lappula occidentalis var. occidentalis	30 / 9
0.17	l	52		Wright's bedstraw	Galium wrightii	2 / 2
0.20	l	53		fragrant snakeroot	Ageratina herbacea	30 / 5
0.20	r			(shrubby cream bush, Holodiscus dumosus )
0.21	r	54		pallid hoptree	Ptelea trifoliata ssp. pallida	50 / 9
0.22	l	55		alfalfa	Medicago sativa	1 / 1
0.23	r			Sign: "Do not attempt to hike to the bottom and back in one day…"
0.23				Switchback left at ridge, then S curve in trail
0.23	r	56		shepherd's purse	Capsella bursa-pastoris	10 / 3
0.23	r	57		black sagebrush	Artemisia nova	x / 1
0.25	l			(banana yucca, Yucca baccata; Cooper’s rubberweed, Hymenoxys cooperi; southern mountain phlox, Phlox austromontana)
0.25	l	58		rock whitefeather	Ivesia arizonica arizonica	40 / 2
0.25	r	59		Utah fendlerbush	Fendlerella utahensis	1 / 1
0.26	l	60		wallflower	Erysimum capitatum var. purshii	5 / 3
0.26	l	61		*annual blue grass	Poa annua	1 / 1
0.27	l	62		Cooper’s rubberweed	Hymenoxys cooperi	5 / 2
0.28	r			(Apache plume, Fallugia paradoxa)
0.29				Cross Bright Angel Fault onto Toroweap Redbeds, thickness 250 feet here
0.29	l			(Rocky Mountain Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca)
0.30	l	63		Munz's bedstraw	Galium munzii ssp. ambivalens	40 / 9
0.30	l	64		coral bells	Heuchera rubescens	7 / 4
0.30	l	65		Drummond's false pennyroyal	Hedeoma drummondii	1 / 1
0.30	l	66	~	Aspen onion	Allium bisceptrum var. palmeri	5 / 1
0.33	b	67		Simpson's buckwheat	Eriogonum microthecum var. simpsonii	50 / 9
0.33	r	68		Indian ricegrass	Eriocoma hymenoides	40 / 9
0.34	r	69		green ephedra	Ephedra viridis	50 / 9
0.36	l	70		cliffrose	Purshia stansburyana	20 / 9
0.36	l	71		Basin butterweed	Packera multilobata	3 / 2
0.36	l	72		*Bermuda grass	Cynodon dactylon	5 / 1
0.36	r	73		yellow spiny daisy	Xanthisma gracile	x / 1
0.37	b	74	~	slender cryptantha	Cryptantha gracilis	20 / 3
0.38	r	75		Rocky Mountain Douglas fir	Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca	10 / 3
0.39	l	76		sticky snakeweed	Gutierrezia microcephala	30 / 9
0.39	r	77		freckled milk-vetch	Astragalus lentiginosus var. diphysus	1 / 1
0.39	l	78		Martin's paintbrush	Castilleja chromosa	3 / 1
0.39	b	79		Fremont barberry	Berberis fremontii	10 / 9
0.40				Switchback right; CP #1, elevation 6630 feet (2021 m). In a short distance on the side trail is narrow phacelia, Phacelia filiformis; spiny greasebush, Glossopetalon spinescens var. aridum; and a different Castilleja sp.
0.41	l	80		sand dropseed	Sporobolus cryptandrus	10 / 1
0.41	r	81		*smooth brome	Bromus inermis	99 / 9
0.43	l	82		banana yucca	Yucca baccata	45 / 9
0.43	r			(Eaton's penstemon, Penstemon eatonii ssp. undosus)
0.44	r	83		desert prickly-pear	Opuntia phaeacantha	5 / 5
0.44	r	84		rose heath	Chaetopappa ericoides	20 / 6
0.50				Cross Bright Angel Fault back onto Kaibab Limestone
0.51	r	85		Fendler bush	Fendlera rupicola	40 / 9
0.54	r	86		shrubby cream bush	Holodiscus dumosus	10 / 3
0.54	l			(claret cup, Echinocereus triglochidiatus)
0.55	l			(blue elderberry, Sambucus cerulea)
0.55	r			(Richardson's brome, Bromus richardsonii)
0.55	r			Contact between the Kaibab and Toroweap Formations
0.58	r	87		wild candytuft	Noccaea fendleri	8 / 3
0.58	r	88		trailing fleabane	Erigeron flagellaris	30 / 9
0.59	r	89		Eaton's penstemon	Penstemon eatonii ssp. undosus	20 / 9
0.59	r			(*common mullein, Verbascum thapsus)
0.60	l	90	~	blue elderberry	Sambucus cerulea	1 / 1
0.61	l	91	~	narrow-leaf four o'clock	Mirabilis linearis	2 / 1
0.63	r	92		scrambled eggs	Corydalis aurea	5 / 2
0.64	r	93		southern mountain phlox	Phlox austromontana	10 / 5
0.66	r		~	(spike-moss, Selaginella mutica)
0.70	l			Jct. use path
0.71	l			Jct. use path
0.72	r			Kolb Seep Springs
0.72	r	94	~	curly dock	Rumex crispus	1 / 1
0.73				Switchback left; CP #2, elevation 6364 feet (1940 m)
0.80		95		*wild alyssum	Alyssum simplex	iN / 1
0.80	l	96		spiny greasebush	Glossopetalon spinescens var. aridum	20 / 9
0.86	l	97		Knowlton hop hornbeam	Ostrya knowltonii	30 / 9
0.87				Second Tunnel, through hardened Bright Angel Fault, CP "Tunnel (#2)", elevation 6248 feet (1904 m). Cross into Coconino Sandstone, thickness 350 feet here
0.89	l			Grand Canyon rock-daisy, Perityle congesta, with ovate leaves (earlier plants had narrowly-elliptic leaves)
		98		velvety goldenrod	Solidago velutina	5 / 2
0.90				Switchback right; CP #3, elevation 6218 feet (1895 m). Begin series of short switchbacks
0.90	l			(virgin's bower, Clematis ligusticifolia; birchleaf buckthorn, Frangula obovata, in distance)
0.96				Switchback left
0.98	l	99		birchleaf buckthorn	Frangula obovata	2 / 2
0.98	l	100		virgin's bower	Clematis ligusticifolia	5 / 2
0.98				Switchback right; CP #4, elevation 6153 feet (1875 m)
0.98	l			(Kaibab century plant, Agave utahensis var. kaibabensis)
1.01				Trail curves right 90°.
1.05				Switchback left
1.08				Switchback right; CP #5, elevation 6073 feet (1851 m); cross into Hermit Shale, thickness 300 feet here, just below this point
1.12	b	101		trumpet gooseberry	Ribes leptanthum	50 / 9
1.12				Switchback left
1.16				Switchback right; CP #6, elevation 6007 feet (1831 m)
1.17	r	102		skunkbush	Rhus aromatica	20 / 6
1.17	r			Check for Thelypodium integrifolium (sepals erect in bloom, not spreading)
1.20				Switchback left.
1.24				Switchback right; CP #7, elevation 5946 feet (1812 m)
1.27				Cross drainage
1.27	r			Ribes leptanthum (on left, white flowers) and R. velutinum (on right, yellow flowers) side by side.
1.27	r	103		narrow-leaved miner's lettuce	Claytonia parviflora ssp. utahensis	99 / 9
1.30				Switchback left; CP #8, elevation 5900 feet (1798 m)
1.30	r			Jct. use path
1.31				Switchback right.
1.33	r	104		barestem larkspur	Delphinium scaposum	10 / 5
1.35	r			Jct. two use paths
1.42	l	105	?	western wheatgrass	Elymus smithii	3 / 1
1.46		106		Arizona prickly poppy	Argemone arizonica	6 / 2
1.47	r	107		fragrant ash	Fraxinus cuspidata	30 / 9
1.48				Trail bends right 90°; CP #9, elevation 5780 feet (1762 m)
1.51	r	108		gooseberryleaf globemallow	Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia	50 / 9
1.53	l			(closest Kaibab century plant, Agave utahensis var. kaibabensis)
1.54	r			(spike-moss, Selaginella mutica)
1.55				Trail curves right at ridge
1.57	r	109		tidy fleabane	Erigeron concinnus	50 / 9
1.58		110		squirreltail barley	Hordeum jubatum	iN / 1
1.58	r			1.5 mile Resthouse; CP "(1.5 mile) resthouse", elevation 5714 feet (1742 m)
1.58	r	111		western redbud	Cercis orbiculata	3 / 3
1.59				Cross drainage
1.60	r	112		Mojave prickly-pear	Opuntia polyacantha var. erinacea	3 / 3
1.62	r			Jct. short trail to the 1.5 mile restrooms; switchback left; CP #10, elevation 5692 feet (1735 m)
1.64				Cross drainage again; Indian pictographs above the trail somewhere before 2 mile corner
1.64	l	113		common mullein	Verbascum thapsus	2 / 1
1.68				Cross into Supai Group, thickness 950 feet here
1.70				Trail curves left 90°; CP #11, elevation 5644 feet (1720 m)
1.71	b	114		longleaf brickellbush	Brickellia longifolia	99 / 9
1.77				"Shade View" - overhanging boulders giving shade with a great view.
1.77		115		Bigelow sagebrush	Artemisia bigelovii	iN / 2
1.80				Trail curves left 90°; CP #12, elevation 5582 feet (1701 m)
1.81	l	116		spike-moss	Selaginella mutica	1 / 1
1.91				Long switchback right at main drainage; CP #13, elevation 5518 feet (1682 m)
1.91	l			(Check for bush peavine, Lathyrus brachycalyx ssp. zionis)
1.93	l	117		single-leaf ash	Fraxinus anomala	10 / 5
1.95	l	118		greenstem paperflower	Psilostrophe sparsiflora	5 / 2
1.95	l	119		narrow phacelia	Phacelia filiformis	20 / 3
1.95	l	120		Clokey's gilia gilia	Gilia clokeyi	2 / 2
1.95	l	121		Utah penstemon	Penstemon utahensis	20 / 7
1.95	r	122		James' galleta	Hilaria jamesii	1 / 1
1.97		123		Utah fleabane	Erigeron utahensis	iN / 1
1.99	r	124	~	Mormon needlegrass	Eriocoma arida	20 / 5
2.00	l	125		*red brome	Bromus rubens	10 / 1
2.01				Switchback right at 2 mile corner; CP #14, elevation 5443 feet (1659 m)
2.03	l	126		giant four o'clock	Mirabilis multiflora	20 / 5
2.04	r	127		*ripgut brome	Bromus diandrus	30 / 9
2.05	r	128		bush muhly	Muhlenbergia porteri	10 / 2
2.10				Long switchback left at red amphitheater in main drainage; CP #15, elevation 5407 feet (1648 m)
2.18	r	129	~	Parish needlegrass	Eriocoma parishii	20 / 9
2.25				Switchback left; CP #16, elevation 5305 feet (1617 m)
2.25	r			Jct. with what looks like a previous segment of the Bright Angel Trail
2.33				Switchback right; CP #17, elevation 5244 feet (1598 m)
2.39				Switchback left; CP #18, elevation 5197 feet (1584 m)
2.42	r	130		whitetop (removed by GC)	Lepidium draba	20 / 1
2.42	r	131		Kaibab century plant	Agave utahensis var. kaibabensis	1 / 1
2.43	l	132		black brush	Coleogyne ramosissima	50 / 3
2.43				Switchback right; CP #19, elevation 5165 feet (1574 m)
2.45		133		desert needlegrass	Pappostipa speciosa	iN / 1
2.48				Switchback left; CP #20, elevation 5133 feet (1565 m)
2.50	r	134		hairy-podded pepper-grass	Lepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpum	20 / 5
2.52				Switchback right; CP #21, 5097 feet (1554 m)
2.58				Trail curves left 90° at side drainage; CP #22, 5056 feet (1541 m)
2.58	r			(bush peavine, Lathyrus brachycalyx ssp. zionis)
2.64	l	135		shrub live oak	Quercus turbinella	10 / 2
2.68				Switchback left, CP #23, elevation 4978 feet (1517 m)
2.68				Confirmed location of Bigelow sagebrush, Artemisia bigelovii
2.69		136		Engelmann prickly-pear	Opuntia engelmannii var. engelmannii	iN / 4
2.71				Switchback right; CP #24, elevation 4955 feet (1510 m)
2.74		137		sacred datura	Datura wrightii	iN / 2
2.75				Curve left 90°.
2.77	l	138		Mojave woodyaster	Xylorhiza tortifolia	20 / 9
2.77				Curve right 90°.
2.78				Switchback left, CP #25, elevation 4897 feet (1493 m)
2.84				Switchback right at drainage; CP #26, elevation 4855 feet (1480 m)
2.90				Curve right 90°.
2.90	r	139		Torrey's milkvetch	Astragalus calycosus	10 / 1
2.91	r	140		bush peavine	Lathyrus brachycalyx ssp. zionis	2 / 1
2.95				Curve left 90°.
3.01				Jct. short path to 3 mile Resthouse; CP "(3 mile) Resthouse", elevation 4733 feet (1443 m). The following four species are found in the area just beyond the Resthouse:
-	-	141		slender lipfern	Myriopteris gracilis	2 / 1
-	-	142		mountain pepper-grass	Lepidium montanum	7 / 2
-	-	143		western bernardia	Bernardia incana	4 / 3
-	-			Many plants of black brush, Coleogyne ramosissima, found here
3.01	r	144		needle & thread grass	Hesperostipa comata	10 / 2
3.03				Switchback left.
3.07	l	145		netleaf hackberry	Celtis reticulata	1 / 1
3.10				Switchback right; CP #27, elevation 4663 feet (1422 m); enter Redwall Limestone, thickness 450 feet here
3.12	r	146		rose bladderpod	Physaria purpurea	30 / 7
3.12	r			Only location of mountain pepper-grass, Lepidium montanum, on trail proper
3.13				Switchback left.
3.15				Switchback right.
3.16				Switchback left.
3.19	l	147		rock spiraea	Petrophytum caespitosum	50 / 2
3.19	l	148		snapdragon vine	Maurandya antirrhiniflora	3 / 2
3.19	l			Check unk perennial with lobed leaves like Artemisia ludoviciana
3.21				Switchback right.
3.22				Curve right 90°.
3.23				Switchback left.
3.26				Curve left 90°.
3.28		149		resin brittlebush	Encelia resinifera	30 / 7
3.29				Switchback right at the closest part of the trail to the "Petrified Snow". CP #28, 4512 feet (1375 m)
3.30	l	150		wire-lettuce	Stephanomeria pauciflora	/
3.32				Curve right 90°.
3.34				Switchback left.
3.36				Curve left 90°.
3.38				Switchback right.
3.40				Curve right 90°.
3.41				Switchback left.
3.44				Switchback right; CP #29, elevation 4396 feet (1340 m)
3.45				Trail curves left 90° and crosses small drainage
3.46	r	151		brownfoot	Acourtia wrightii	2 / 2
3.46	r	152		California hedge-parsley	Yabea microcarpa	2 / 1
3.46	r	153		common bedstraw	Galium aparine	1 / 1
3.50				Enter Temple Butte Limestone; thickness 35 feet here
3.51	r	154		turpentine broom	Thamnosma montana	13 / 3
3.51	l	155		longleaf phlox	Phlox longifolia	30 / 9
3.52	l	156		side-oats grama	Bouteloua curtipendula	50 / 9
3.59		157		nodding scorpionflower	Phacelia laxiflora	iN / 1
3.61	r	158		rush rabbitbrush	Ericameria nauseosa var. juncea	40 / 9
3.61	l	159		poison milkweed	Asclepias subverticillata	1 / 1
3.61	l	160		winding mariposa	Calochortus flexuosus	10 / 2
3.61	l	161		Patagonia plantain	Plantago patagonica	10 / 1
3.61	l	162		red three-awn	Aristida purpurea var. longiseta	10 / 2
3.62		163		Grand Canyon beavertail	Opuntia basilaris var. longiareolata	iN / 1
3.62				Switchback right; CP #30, elevation 4255 feet (1297 m)
3.65		164	?	unk spiny shrub	like Prunus fremontii	/
3.65	l			First location of western bernardia, Bernardia incana, on trail
3.65	l	165	?	?	Like a shrubby Artemisia ludoviciana with entire leaves	/
3.69				Long switchback left, cross good-sized side drainage; CP #31, elevation 4208 feet (1283 m); enter Muav Limestone, thickness 375 feet here. Below here, the trail is mostly on alluvial deposits, and the Muav Limestone and the Bright Angel Shale, thickness 350 feet, are not evident.
3.69	l			Second location for Roaring Springs prickly-poppy, Argemone arizonica
3.70	l			Check these plants to see if they are young fourwing saltbush
3.72	l	166		Apache plume	Fallugia paradoxa	5 / 2
3.72	b	167		desert trumpet	Eriogonum inflatum	10 / 1
3.73	r	168		fourwing saltbush	Atriplex canescens	5 / 1
3.74	r	169	sp	Buckwheat with terminal infl	Eriogonum sp.	x /
3.75	r	170		wing-nut cryptantha	Cryptantha pterocarya	x /
3.75	r	171		silver puffs	Uropappus lindleyi	1 / 1
3.92				Cross creekbed, with high-pressure water pipe elevated on left; CP #32, elevation 4093 feet (1248 m)
4.02		172		catclaw	Senegalia greggii	50 / 3
4.09				Curve left 90°, cross streambed, then turn right 90°; CP #33, elevation 4029 feet (1228 m)
4.10		173		blue grama	Bouteloua gracilis	30 / 3
4.12				Switchback right (only ~90°)
4.36				Cross creekbed; CP #34, elevation 3884 feet (1184 m)
4.40				Sign: "Indian Gardens" (arrow pointing downhill)
4.41				Sign: "The plants you see here are the living desert. They grow by the inch and die by the foot".
4.56		174		sacahuista	Nolina microcarpa	3 / 1
4.59		175		common reed	Phragmites australis	iN /
4.59		176		Fremont cottonwood	Populus fremontii	iN /
4.59		177		Canyon wild grape	Vitis arizonica	iN /
4.60		178		broom baccharis	Baccharis sarothroides	iN / 1
4.62		179		silverleaf nightshade	Solanum elaeagnifolium	iN / 3
4.65	l			Indian Gardens Resthouse
4.66		180		narrowleaf willow	Salix exigua	iN /
4.66		181		water cress	Nasturtium officinale	iN /
4.68	l			Jct. Plateau Point Trail; end Plant Trail Guide
				Additional species in Indian Gardens area off-trail
IG		182		mule fat	Baccharis salicifolia	iN / 1
IG		183		*Japanese chess	Bromus japonicus	iN / 1
IG		184		sturdy sedge	Carex alma	V /
IG		185		froststem suncup	Chylismia multijuga	V /
IG		186		bigleaf marsh-elder	Iva frutescens	V /
IG		187		*tall fescue	Lolium arundinaceum	V /
IG		188		American tule	Schoenoplectus americanus	iN / 1
				Species only present off-trail are listed again here
0.13		189		ponderosa pine	Pinus ponderosa	/
0.54	l	190		claret cup	Echinocereus triglochidiatus	/
0.55	r	191		fringed brome	Bromus richardsonii	/

Go to:

• Family Order Flora of the Upper Bright Angel Trail with links to the SEINet page on each taxon.
• Bright Angel Trail and South Kaibab Trail: Checklist of Species With Pictures
• References for Taxa Found on the Bright Angel Trail in traditional family order
• Native and Introduced Plants of the Grand Canyon, Arizona
• Plants of Southern California: Trail Guides

Copyright © 2007-2022 by Tom Chester, Anne Kelly, Kate Watters, Lauren Berutich and Brendan Crill.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to us at this source:
http://tchester.org/gc/plants/guides/bright_angel_down.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Updated 10 September 2022 (Gilia ophthalmoides changed to G. clokeyi on 11 May 2023).