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A non-native, water-loving shrub along southwestern rivers, and a target of restoration work.
Tamarisk is a water-loving Mediterranean shrub that arrived in North America in the 1800s, first as an ornamental, and was later planted to slow erosion along the Colorado River in Arizona. The National Park Service says it has since spread to all of the Colorado's tributaries.
The park service says dense stands increase fire frequency, lower plant and animal diversity and change how streams behave, and that their shade keeps cottonwood seedlings from growing. Courthouse Wash in Arches is one of several places the park has worked to control it, and removal there has helped native cottonwoods.
Its feathery foliage lines many canyon-country waterways.
A broad-crowned river tree whose new generations depend on the right combination of flowing water, exposed sediment, and moisture.
A small-flowered columbine of seeps and hanging gardens, where groundwater creates a cool refuge within the desert.
A broad-leaved native perennial whose clustered flowers support pollinators and whose leaves can host monarch caterpillars.
A rare wetland orchid with a spiral of pale flowers, dependent on moist, relatively open habitat.