Front Range, Eastern Slope, Rocky Mountains
Tom Schweich
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Front Range, Eastern Slope, Rocky Mountains
| Checklist Flora of Native and Naturalized Vascular Plants of Golden and Vicinity, Jefferson County, Colorado (Continued) |
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Tom Schweich |
Topics in this Article: Introduction Geography History of Botanic Exploration and Publication Useful Publications Methods Results Discussion - Native Plants Discussion - Non-Native Plants Conclusion Acknowledgements Literature Cited |
Golden, Colorado sits in a valley formed by erosion along the Golden fault, the geotectonic boundary between the North American Cordillera and the Great Plains. Somewhat like Mono Lake, for which I have also prepared a checklist flora, it sits at a boundary, or perhaps ecotone. Things are always more interesting at the boundaries. I started this project when I realized no such list had been prepared for my newly adopted city. I hope you find this checklist flora helpful. Please write to me if you have questions or comments. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Collections FoundThere are about 2,300 collections that have been made in Golden and vicinity. Collecting events have been sporadic at best. This oldest known collection is of Crataegus succulenta made by an unknown collector in 1822. Marcus E. Jones is credited with a number of collections in 1878. A little caution is required for Jones' collections, though, as his localities were often loosely interpreted. Mrs. Ella Bailar made a blip in 1905. Then the collections by Ernest H. Brunquist in support of the Magic Mountain archleogical dig standout. Loraine Yeatts entry into the world of botany is a standout in 1983. Finally, my own work had increased the number of collections by more than 50% at the end of 2018. A map of known georeferenced plant collections made in or near Golden s.l.is shown at left.
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Major Collectors in Golden and Vicinity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Collections found by collector, as of December 31, 2025:
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Loraine Yeatts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Janet L. Wingate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ernest H. BrunquistErnest Herman Brunquist (1888 - 1978)
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William S. HuestisSometimes spelled “Heustis,” William S. Huestis collected primarily in 1904-1906, and then again in 1916. There are a total of 768 collections attributed to Huestis, 707 of which are at COLO (SEINet, 2025). He collected mostly around Denver at such places described as “Cherry Creek near Alameda Street” or Berkeley. He must have ridden the street car like Alice Eastwood because there are a number of collections in Jefferson County along Clear Creek, including Wheat Ridge. There are only five collections that specifically say “Golden” and a few more from Lookout Mountain, mountains around Golden. William S. Huestis graduated from the University of Colorado, College of Liberal Arts, in 1910 (The Coloradoan, 1910). Among his other collections, the first collection of Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) was made by Huestis on 6/21/1914 in Berkeley Park, Denver (SEINet, 2026). William Seaver Huestis died 13 April 1920 at age 37 in Denver, Colorado (WikiTree, 2026, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Huestis-267)
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Marcus E. JonesMarcus E. Jones only visits to the Golden area were in 1878. He writes in his notes… On the 17th. Got 255 and others in the foothills near Golden and at Golden. On the 20th, got 268, 273 and others at Golden, and 226-238, 246, 256-267, 270-272, 274-275 in Clear Creek Canyon going toward Idaho Springs. … August 1st. Got 528-532 at Idaho Springs, 522-523 at Golden. On the 2nd. 524-527 on the road to Denver. … | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Floristic Quality Assessment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Literature Cited:
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A fundamental job of conservation practitioners and land managers is to quickly assess the relative biological value of land parcels and their species. Floristic Quality Assessment is a method that has been refined over several decades. Spyreas (2019) is a good summary. Coefficient of Conservatism data for Colorado has been published in Smith, Doyle, and Lemly (2020). I have had to make some adjustments to their data, such as when infraspecific names are not available, or when names have changed. Since my "plots" are open space parcels with widely varying sizes, the mean coefficient of conservatism is probably more meaningful than floristic quality index. A higher number is better. A Mean C above 3.5 indicates sufficient quality to be considered a "natural area". The table below is made with the available presence data from collections and observations and must be treated as preliminary. Some plots require additional survey to fill out the data. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last updated: 24 April 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Collections Made | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| If you have a question or a comment you may write to me at: tomas@schweich.com I sometimes post interesting questions in my FAQ, but I never disclose your full name or address. |
Date and time this article was prepared: 4/24/2026 5:01:15 PM |
