Plants every mule deer hunter should know

[Bull_n_heat]

This thread goes hand in glove with a podcast recording that Robby and Luke did in February 2025 (link will be here). Hopefully this pictorial is helpful for giving visuals of the plants discussed there, but definitely go check it out for a bunch of background info on when and why deer will use these plants. There’s some great tidbits in there about identifying these plants/communities from afar (e-scouting, or through-the-glass) as well as information about how to help make deer habitat all that it can be.

1. Big Sage Brush (Artemesia tridentata)

These are nearly ubiquitous across much of the West. Small, “bushy” shrub that appears generally light green, or blue-ish green in color. Leaves are evergreen (non-deciduous) and have three lobes to them (hence TRI-dentata). Three subspecies: Wyoming big sage (mid- to low-elevation), basin big sage (lower areas, bottoms of draws), and mountain big sage (higher elevation).

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin

www.wildflower.org

2. Antelope Bitterbrush

Very valuable browse species for most ungulates where available. Deciduous shrub that is similar in stature and usually associated with big sage (top photo), but has deeper green leaves and yellow flowers. In late fall/winter (after the leaves fall off) the stems appear more red/brown or darker than the greyer stems on a big sage plant.

Antelope bitterbrush, Purshia tridentata

A description of the seasonal development of the antelope bitterbrush shrub (Purshia tridentata), from young leaves and flowers to fruits and seeds.

extension.oregonstate.edu

3. Oak Brush (Gambel Oak)
The nice thing about this shrub is that you really shouldn’t have to pick out just one of them – it should basically cover whole hillsides (first photo). If you’re an easterner where there are oak trees, it should look pretty similar, except it suffers from dwarfism. It can grow up to ~30’ in height and is generally pretty thick. It will have round-lobed leaves that are 3-5” long and turn gold/brown in the fall, often being one of the last deciduous trees to shed its leaves. In growth, the shrub tends to have a pretty “gnarly”, crooked branches and trunks that splay in many directions. It is excellent escape cover, produces high value acorns, and is pretty good browse. If you hunt north of Idaho or Wyoming, you can pretty much write this one off, but if you’re south of there, you’d best know this one.'






4. Quaking (or “Trembling”) Aspen – “the Quakies”
This is one of the iconic trees of the West. It is actually the widest distributed tree in North America, and the largest living organism on Earth is actually a clonal group in southern Utah. Light, straight stems with light green leaves typify Aspen in the summer (top photo), which turn gold or orange in the fall (second Photo). The narrow leaf stem that attaches to the bud (last photo) causes the leaves to “tremble” or “quake” in the slightest of breezes, inspiring its name. Because of this, the splendor of their autumnal color is unfortunately short lived. Aspen provide excellent escape cover, wonderful browse, but, perhaps most importantly, create excellent growing conditions in their understory that produces a great bounty of diverse foods for deer. I have read in places that aspen are particularly nutritionally valuable in the fall because freezing does something chemically in their leaves, but also because their browse (woody material) has more protein content following leaf-off (which is typical of almost every shrub).

 

[Bull_n_heat]

Aspen (continued)


5. Mixed Mountain Shrubs (Serviceberry and Mountain Mahogany, among some others)
These are a general category of some shrubs that occur in the transition zone between “forested” elevations and “rangelands” that are dominated by mostly sage and bitterbrush. Generally, Serviceberry (called Juneberry in the Midwest, the Canucks might call it Saskatoon) appears more reddish than other shrubs, and if it’s limited, often appears very heavily browsed (thick, short stems with less supple leaders; second photo). Leaves are similar to Aspen but elongated (top photo). The berries are excellent if you can find some in late summer. Generally turn fairly red/orange in the fall, and lose leaves pretty quickly. Mahogany (there are a couple varieties) generally have very small leaves (third photo) and mature specimens will appear like something you might see on the Lion King with a single trunk protruding vertically to a flat canopy of leaves and branches (forth photo). Similar to Serviceberry, if there is heavy browsing pressure (often), they will get that very gnarled growth form. Both mahogany and serviceberry are excellent fall and winter browse.

Shrublands - Range Types of North America

6. Sticky Geranium
This is an extremely valuable forb (flowering herbaceous plant) during the summer months in the Intermountain West. It can constitute up to 40% of mule deer diets in July (an astounding number), and deer can eat virtually the entire plant. I would expect it to occur at mid-elevations (where the aspens start), all the way up to the subalpine and even alpine zones. Flowers are distinctly 5-petaled, which a somewhat classic flower pattern and a delicate ovule area* (top photo). Flowers will appear white to pink generally, and wilt very quickly if you pick some for decorating your home. Leaves have 5 lobes and are very “veined” and “pointy”, somewhat resembling the general pattern of your palm or perhaps the lobe pattern of a quintessential cannabis leaf.

Sticky Geranium

extension.usu.edu

*as opposed to something like a sunflower that has a gigantic “disk” of individual ovules

 

[Bull_n_heat]

Tall Forbs you should know

In the intermountain West, one community type is particularly valuable summer range for deer: the Tall Forbs. These occur in sub-alpine areas with deep, rich soils in mountain ranges of northern Colorado, northern Utah (Wasatch and Uinta ranges, in particular), Western Wyoming, Eastern Idaho, and southwest Montana. The community generally occurs in meadow type habitats within the forested parts of mountain ranges, and occasionally can extend a bit into the alpine zone. These are the classic “mountain wildflowers” people talk of, and the plants themselves are anywhere from, say, knee-high to chest height (historically, some of these were over people’s heads). You can recognize these habitats by the huge diversity of forbs within them. Deer use tall forb patches primarily for feeding, but they can also virtually disappear in taller forbs. These habitats often provide a lot of calories in the form of carbohydrates, boosting fat levels in the summer.


1. Sticky Geranium
Covered in the other post, but worth underscoring here! Look for this forb in meadows, aspen stands, and other relatively open areas



2. Biscuitroot (Lomatium/Ligusticum)
These two genera (consisting of multiple species) are difficult to tell apart, but have general similarities. Both are in the carrot family and somewhat resemble domestic carrot plants with abundant, very small leaves (top photo). Flowers are clusters of many individual white florets that bears a resemblance to a firework going off (second and third photos). Deer will eat the entire plant early in the season, and the newer shoots later in the year. The plant also produces an underground tuber that are valuable to digging animals like grizzlies (last photo).







3. Lupine
This leaves on this plant somewhat resembles either a pea plant or perhaps a cannabis with rounded leaves. The flowers grows as a “rod” with whorls of florets off of it in purples/blues, and (less commonly) pinks. Generally, an individual plant will just have one color of flowers, but adjacent plants can be totally different shades. Early in the season, this plant is less valuable, and potentially even poisonous, but as it matures it gets much more valuable. Like a pea plant, when the flowers mature, a small seed pod is left, which is highly nutritious. In the fall, if you use horses, they will likely tell you this plant is around before you see it. They seem to really like it.


4. Monument Plant (“elk weed”)
This plant is one of my favorites. Generally, it grows as a series of large leaves that grow straight out of the ground (see first photo), but after some number of years, it sends up a large stalk with whorls of small flowers along the stalk (second photo). The stalk itself perhaps resembles a corn stalk, and the seed heads are valuable deer food later in the summer/fall. I’ve seen deer work their way around this plant in circles nibbling the seeds off (common in elk too). It seems that some plants flower in most years, but some combination of events causes many of them to flower in the same year (2024 was one such year around here).

 

[Bull_n_heat]

5. Sunflowers
Generally, these are one of several species of yellow to orange flowered plants that don’t have large basal leaves (see arrowleaf balsamroot and mules ears below). The big disk of ovules at the center of the flower is pretty distinct. The flowers themselves are particularly valuable forage, but much of the entire plant can be eaten.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus





6. Russet Buffaloberry
This is a unique forage species because it is a shrub that can grow under canopy in dark timber stands. It’s valuable in late summer when many forbs senesce but before frosts make other shrubs more valuable. Because it grows in timber stands, it provides food to deer that don’t “show their face” much in the open.

 

[Bull_n_heat]

Fire-Associate Plants to know

Fireweed
Fireweed, as the name suggests, proliferates in the several years following wildfire in forested systems. It’s distribution is very broad across the US and Canada ranging from New Mexico and Arizona all the way to the Arctic Ocean. The plant itself has a single stem with whorls of narrow, pointed leaves at the base and a crown of pink-purple narrow flowers. Following first frost, the leaves themselves take on a flame colored hue and the flowers have long white, silky strands of seeds in place of the colorful flowers (last photo).




Hollyhock
This plant resembles a shrub because of the size it attains and its general growth pattern. The stems have both maple-shaped leaves and stalks of whorled white to pink flowers, however it is entirely herbaceous. The entire plant is highly nutritious, even after senescence, so it remains a highly used plant from summer late into the fall. This is another plant that really explodes following wildfire in forested areas. I haven’t noticed it quite as frequently as fireweed, but if it can be located, it really seems to be a magnet for all sorts of ungulates.

 

[Bull_n_heat]

Plants you’ll see, but might not be great

These plants are common in deer country, and might be seen in association with other forbs that are valuable, but might don’t provide much nutritional value themselves. Often, they might indicate historically heavy grazing use or poor soil conditions if they are the bulk of the community.

1. Arrowleaf balsamroot
This plant doesn’t provide a lot of nutrition but will likely be one you see often. It (as well as mules ears) has leaves that immerge right from the ground and have yellow flowers. However, as its name implies, the leaves of this plant generally resemble an arrowhead, and the leaves are slightly lighter green in color. Following senescence, these plants get brown, crispy, and stepping in them can have an auditory resemblance to stepping on corn flakes on a gymnasium floor (second photo).



2. Mules Ears (Wyethia)
This plant is very similar to Arrowleaf Balsamroot but has generally darker green leaves and lacks the heart-shaped lobe where the stem meets the leaf. I feel this plant has a bit of an odor to it that irritates my sinuses, but this might not be universal for others.


3. Larkspur (multiple species)
I find larkspur to be a beautiful flower, but it can be poisonous to many species and isn’t used much (if at all) for deer food. However, it is usually found in association with other valuable forbs. The individual flowers on the stalk has a short protrusion off the back of the flower that resembles the spur on a bird’s leg (second photo).



5. Cheatgrass
This plant is virtually useless to deer outside of a couple days in the spring when it is green and sprouting. Deer hunters should know about it so that they can notify others of an impending infestation of this highly invasive annual grass, particularly after fires in rangelands (top photo). The red tones of a hillside of it early in the summer is quite distinct, and the very large seed heads that resemble a Grinch hands are also very distinct. If you see this plant in locations you didn't previously, tell someone so they can include it in suppression plans!





Hopefully folks find this helpful, but please ask questions and I can try to help out.

 

[Walkstoomuch]

Wow this is great! Thanks for sharing

 

[Plainsman79]

Now that is an A+ post! Great job and Thank you.

 

[go_deep]

Ton of great info here! Thank you!!

 

[Pescetism]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[TaperPin]

In many areas the number one bushy tree type that will lead to killing big deer is the Krumholtz.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Fantastic post! This is awesome info and pictures. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Bugger]

Great post! Thanks for adding that.

I made a point to really pay attention to what deer were munching on this last muzzleloader season. What I found interesting was how each deer or group would hammer the same plants day after day without touching other edible species. No clue why but it was consistent enough to catch my attention. I’ll definitely be keeping that in mind in the future.

These two browsed on only young sage for two days in a row AM & PM then disappeared.


This young fella was busy slamming sunflowers every time I saw him for 4-5 days.


These two were part of a bachelor group of 5 that I saw off and on and the only thing they were eating was oak brush. Some does would hang out nearby nibbling on sage but they never touched the oaks or vice versa.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Mountain mahogany

 

[Clarkdale17]

Best post I’ve seen on here in a long time. Thanks for sharing

 

[jpmulk]

Good stuff. Well done

 

[WestSideMonster]

Thank you, was wondering what half this stuff was

 

[Bull_n_heat]

Great post! Thanks for adding that.

I made a point to really pay attention to what deer were munching on this last muzzleloader season. What I found interesting was how each deer or group would hammer the same plants day after day without touching other edible species. No clue why but it was consistent enough to catch my attention. I’ll definitely be keeping that in mind in the future.

These two browsed on only young sage for two days in a row AM & PM then disappeared.
View attachment 839212

This young fella was busy slamming sunflowers every time I saw him for 4-5 days.
View attachment 839213

These two were part of a bachelor group of 5 that I saw off and on and the only thing they were eating was oak brush. Some does would hang out nearby nibbling on sage but they never touched the oaks or vice versa.
View attachment 839216

Great observations! In the episode we talk a little bit about defenses that individual plants have. Sometimes based on where they are in life (the plant), it can have more or less of tannins, alkaloids, and other compounds that deter herbivory. Likewise, deer can have a gut flora that is adapted towards some particular food item and away from others (not unlike how I could eat red meat every day and my fiancé would prefer it much less often!).

It really underscores the scalpel-like precision of a deer's diet. They really are targeting very specifically what they need or want.

 

[Bull_n_heat]

In many areas the number one bushy tree type that will lead to killing big deer is the Krumholtz.

View attachment 839191

Agreed. They are likely not using the krumholtz trees for food, but rather for excellent bedding cover. Similar to how deer might use juniper in lower elevations for cover, despite it having little for food value.

 

[JJ1179]

Awesome information! Thanks.