Plants

Expanse of sagebrush with aspen trees, pines, and gently sloping mountains, Great Basin National Park.

NPS / Joseph Ladd

The Great Basin is a desert, averaging less than 10 inches of rain a year. It is a cold desert, and because of its high elevation, it receives most of its moisture in winter snows. Despite these dry conditions there are over 800 different plant species in the park and South Snake Range, and of these, 13 are considered sensitive species. The park’s large elevation gradient (5,295 to 13,016 feet; 1,615 to 3,981 meters), varied topography, geology, soils, and hydrology create a diversity of habitats for plants and animals.

Adaptations to Life in the Desert

The way many of these plant species are able to survive in this environment is through specialized adaptations or by living in the cooler, wetter mountain ranges. The plants in the Great Basin have developed some ingenious methods to deal with dry desert conditions. Read more below about their adaptations to these harsh environments.

 

Dealing With Little Water

Varied Seed Production

Many flowering plants will only grow and produce seeds during a year when there is enough water. These seeds will be dormant until the next season with enough moisture, which may be years from the time they were produced.

Extensive Root Systems

Other adaptations help keep plants from losing their water. Sagebrush, a very common resident of the Great Basin, is well adapted to the area. Big sagebrush root systems can extend as much as 90 feet in circumference. This adaptation allows the plant to catch as much water as possible when the rains do come.

Reducing Water Loss

The hairy leaves of sagebrush work as a windbreak to slow down evaporation from leaves. Other methods of water loss prevention are waxy leaves and succulence (a swollen fleshy appearalo k;nce in plants that are able to store water). A waxy coat acts as a barrier to evaporation by the wind. Succulence allows plants to hold water for the drier times. Greenleaf manzanita is an example of a plant with a waxy coat and prickly pear cactus is a succulent.

Plants exchange gases, including water, through their leaves by a process called transpiration. Plants in dry environments cannot afford to lose much water through evapotranspiration (the process by which plants release oxygen and sometimes water). Modified leaves reduce water loss. For example, Mormon tea has very small leaves that are not the primary area for photosynthesis. The chlorophyll-filled stems carry out the primary photosynthesis.

Dealing With Salt

Some of the soils in the Great Basin contain high amounts of salt, and only plants with special adaptations such as saltbush and iodine bush can survive. Four-winged saltbush excretes salt through its leaves. This process prevents build-up of lethal salts in the plant. The plants on the alkaline flats tolerate a high internal concentration of salt and are able to extract water from saline soils that other plants cannot.

Importance of Adaptations

The plants in the Great Basin have developed some ingenious methods of dealing with the dry desert conditions. These adaptations have allowed plants to live in harsh environments, providing a variety of habitats for animals.

 

Visit these Links to Learn about Park Vegetation

 

Species Lists

Download the Flora of the North and South Snake Range.

Use the NPSpecies tool below to get a park plant species checklist. Be aware that species lists and taxonomy are dynamic and some of the lists in this database may need to be updated.

 

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Species attribute definitions

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