Mountain Mahogany Mountain mahogany is one of the most prevalent shrubs in the foothills near Fort Collins. It has a conspicuous persistent style which is long and plumose. Colorado has three species of Cercocarpus , which have different ranges all over the state. Mountain mahogany shrubs form thick stands and occur in elevations from 1500 to 2400 meters.
Mountain mahogany grows best on thin soils, and has the ability to fix nitrogen.
Slender Spiderflower A delicate and attractive plant, this pink-flowered annual inhabits saline or alkaline soils at the edge of many of the wetlands of Colorado's San Luis Valley. C. multicaulis has four petals which are clustered towards one side of the flower. The inflorescense is distinctive and quite attractive, with a single inflorescence containing both light pink and dark rose flowers. Leaves of this species are trifoliate, with linear leaflets that often fold along the midrib. Although herbarium collections of C. multicaulis exist from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, more recent populations have been located outside the San Luis Valley only in southcentral Wyoming.