Riparian Plants of New Mexico

Cooperative Extension Service Animal Resources Department

Terrell T. "Red" Baker PhD., Lanson J. Stavast M.S., Kelly Allred PhD., and Brady Allred

We have compiled a list of "water loving" plants that have been recorded in New Mexico. The plants chosen for this website were designated Obligate Wetland Species or Facultative Wetland Species of the southwest by the 1996 National List of Vascular Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands (Fish and Wildlife Service 1996).

The plants listed for the southwest were then cross referenced with Allred's (2001) A Working Index of New Mexico Vascular Plant Names to determine which plants had been recorded in New Mexico. Obligate Wetland Species are species which always occur in wetland areas (>99% of the time) (Fish and Wildlife 1996). Facultative Wetland Species are species frequently occurring in wetlands (67%-99% of the time) but occasionally found in non-wetland areas (Fish and Wildlife 1996).

We want to promote a better understanding of riparian plants:

• through listing riparian plant species
• by providing a brief life history as well as photographs of the species as they are found in the landscape with close-ups of flowers, fruits, leaves or distinguishing features.

This web site is a work in progress. We will continue to add photographs and information on individual species as we continue our work. We welcome your comments about this site and steps that we can take to make it better. Should you have photographs of individual riparian plant species, we would welcome your contributions for which you will be credited for having provided.

How to contribute to the Riparian Plants of New Mexico Website.