01
Quaking Aspen
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Bark: Green-white, smooth and thin with raised dark patches; on very large trees, trunk base is often gray, thick and furrowed.
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Leaves: Broad-leaf foliage is bright green above and dull green below; rounded with a pointed tip, 1 to 3 inches wide on a flattened leaf head; nearly round and sawtoothed.
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Fruit: Fruit are catkins; up to 4 inches long; many light green capsules contain 6 to 8 tiny, cotton-like seeds.
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Elevation: 6,500 to 11,500 feet.
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Height: 35 to 50 feet.
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Habitat: Many soil types, especially on well-drained, sandy and gravelly slopes; often in pure stands.
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Relation to Fire: Easily killed by fire, but quick to send out many sucker shoots; readily colonizes after a fire.
02
​Schubert Chokecherry
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Bark: Gray to reddish-brown. Bark marked with rows of raised air pores (lenticels) which develop into shallow grooves with age.
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Leaves: Leaves are dark green and glossy on top, paler on the underside; 1 to 4 inches long; up to 2 inches wide. Serrated margins with very small teeth.
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Fruit: Spherical drupes about 1/4-inch diameter. Cherries range from dark-red to dark-purple.
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Elevation: 5,000 to 10,000 feet.
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Habitat: Occurs naturally in a wide range of soil types and textures, although generally regarded as a riparian plant.
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Relation to Fire: Although susceptible to top-kill by fire, it resprouts rapidly and prolifically from surviving root crowns and rhizomes.
03
Green Ash
Although Green Ash is listed in the DR Official Development Plan, this tree species is very susceptible to several insect problems, including an insect known as the emerald ash borer which is native to Asia and has been spreading across the nation. If there is an infestation, the emerald ash borer will typically kill an ash tree within 3 to 5 years after infestation. Also, according to the Colorado State Forest Service, Green Ash is not a native tree species to Colorado. To learn more about native deciduous trees, visit the CSFS website Colorado's Major Tree Species .
04
Narrowleaf Cottonwood
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Bark: Yellow-green and smooth on young trees; thick, gray-brown and furrowed with interlacing ridges at maturity.
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Leaves: Broad-leaf foliage is shiny green with a pale underside; narrow and 2 to 3 inches long; lance shaped with a fine, serrated edge and a pointed tip.
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Fruit: Light brown, hairless fruit; inch long; many broad, egg-shaped capsules that mature in the spring, then split into two parts containing many cotton-like seeds.
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Elevation: 5,000 to 8,000 feet.
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Height: Up to 60 feet.
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Habitat: Moist soils along streams; can often be found with willows and alders in coniferous forests.
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Relation to Fire: Severe fires can easily kill both young and mature trees. Young trees are able to sprout from roots and/or branches after a fire.
01
Ponderosa Pines
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Bark: Dark on young trees; nearly 3 inches thick, red-orange and furrowed into large, flat scaly plates on mature trees.
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Leaves: Evergreen needles are stiff, dark yellow-green; 3 to 7 inches long; typically in bundles of 3 that form tufts near the ends of branches.
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Fruit: Light red-brown cones; 3 to 4 inches long; egg-shaped with scales that are tipped by a sharp point; small, long-winged seeds.
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Elevation: 6,300 to 9,500 feet.
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Height: 40 to 160 feet.
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Habitat: Dry, nutrient poor soils in open park-like stands or with Douglas-fir, Rocky Mountain juniper and spruce.
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Relation to Fire: Resistant to fire, due to open crowns, thick, insulating bark, self-pruning branches, high moisture content in the leaves and thick bud scales.
02
Colorado Blue Spruce
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Bark: Gray-brown with thick scales on mature trees.
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Leaves: Evergreen needles are blue or light green with white lines; 1 to 1-1/4 inches long. stiff and the points extremely sharp, light green with a white stripe.
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Fruit: Shiny light brown, cylindrical cones; 2 to 4 inches long with thin, long, flexible and irregularly toothed scales; contains paired, long-winged seeds.
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Elevation: 6,700 to 11,500 feet.
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Height: 70 to 115 feet.
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Habitat: Well-drained, sandy soils; moist sites of narrow bottomlands or along mountains streams; often in pure stands.
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Relation to Fire: Easily killed by fire due to thin bark, shallow roots and low branches.
03
Douglas Fir
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Bark: Gray and smooth on young trees, can look similar to subalpine fir bark. Mature trees have a reddish-brown or grey color. The bark is very thick and deeply furrowed with broad, often corky ridges.
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Leaves: Evergreen needles are single on the twig, yellow-green to blue-green in color. The tips are blunt or slightly rounded, flat and two-sided, same color on both sides, and soft to the touch. They are ¾ to 1-inch long and very fragrant. Unlike subalpine fir needles, Douglas-fir needles narrow before joining the twig.
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Fruit: Light brown, short-stalked cones that hang down from the branches; 1⅓ to 3 inches long; have rounded scales and very distinctive papery, three-lobed bracts that extend beyond the cone scales and resemble a mouse posterior or a snake’s tongue.
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Elevation: 6,000 to 9,500 feet.
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Height: 100 to 130 feet.
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Habitat: Rocky soils of moist northern slopes; in pure stands and mixed conifer forests.
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Relation to Fire: Thin, resinous bark of young trees makes them highly susceptible to fire; after 40 years, trees have developed a very thick layer of bark to protect them during hot ground and surface fires.
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Things to Note: This is not a true fir, however it does have similarities to spruces, hemlocks, and larches. It is a valuable tree in the timber industry.
