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The maple behind the red and orange on Utah's fall hillsides.
Bigtooth maple, also called canyon maple, is the common native maple of Utah's foothills and mountains. USU Extension says it gives Logan Canyon and other Utah canyons their outstanding fall color, usually bright orange-red to red.
The leaves have three to five broad lobes and grow in opposite pairs. In fall it carries paired, winged seeds shaped like a U. It can grow as a shrub or a small to medium tree, and handles Utah's alkaline soils better than many introduced maples.
Fall color depends on elevation and the year; check current reports before a drive.
A thicket-forming native oak that links Utah's foothills with mountain woodlands and provides important wildlife food and cover.
A foundational shrub of Utah's open country, with small gray-green leaves and an outsized role in wildlife habitat.
A flexible-stemmed native shrub whose late-season yellow flowers extend feeding opportunities for pollinators.
Utah's state flower briefly lifts a three-petaled cup above open, dry-country vegetation before its aboveground growth fades.