Flora and Fauna

A complete picture of Cedar Mesa wouldn't be, well…complete without mentioning its plants and animals. Although not quite as diverse and abundant as other climes, this area supports quite a variety of species. The most dominant plant of course is the ever-present Utah Juniper – also called ‘cedar’ which accounts for the mesa’s name. 

Juniperus osteosperma

Pinyon Pine is almost as prevalent and provided an important source of food (pine nuts) for the Ancient Puebloans. 

Down in the canyon bottoms where there’s plenty of water, are the Cottonwood trees - perhaps the most pleasant of all, especially on a hot, sunny day when shade is at a premium. 

Other common plant species I've seen are: Prickly Pear Cactus; Mountain Mahogany; Mormon Tea; Thin Leaf Yucca, Brittle Bush and Bursage. 

Prickly Pear

Thin Leaf Yucca

Flowers are becoming more abundant as the season wears on. When I first arrived in mid-April I only found: Paintbrush; Wallflower and Phlox. 

Desert Phlox

But now as the days lengthen and warm, it’s common to find: Globemallow; Scarlet Penstemon; Claret Cup; Primrose and many others. 

As far as critters go, I've seen mostly lizards and grasshoppers on the trails...with the occasional gopher snake.

But there's also a large community of birds: raucous ravens; squawking jays; mellifluous wrens and too many LGB's (little grey birds) to count.

Canyon Wren

The literature says we have bobcats, mountain lions and bighorn sheep - none of which I've encountered...although I did see fresh tracks near camp one morning.

All of these played a very important role in the ancient peoples’ lives. They provided not only food but construction materials, dyes for clothing and pottery, medicinal remedies and more.