Plants every mule deer hunter should know

[Bull_n_heat]

So, lots of the various asters are super hard to tell apart, but I identified a lot of them where I walked in. All the deer that walked down that trail ignored them for the week. However, there was the first hard freeze a couple days before I was done hunting. After that freeze, all the whitetails honed in and only ate one of the like 10 aster species that was there. Not a couple. One species. Usually when they browse they kind of munch a bit here and there. This time they'd just walk from plan to plant and only eat that. It was wild, super interesting and neat to me. I honestly don't remember what species it was as it was like 20 years ago. It was one of the more uncommon ones up there.

Hey, thanks for chiming in and I imagine it’s exactly the same for whitetails being selective on certain plants depending on the conditions.

I would agree. Whitetail are perhaps a little more generalist than mule deer, but those dynamics in senescence and green-up probably are relevant to both species. We see preference in willow species for browse as well - there's a ton of different species, and apparently they aren't all created equal (at least to a deer)

 

[700MtnMan]

Thank you for this post and the podcast, great useful information!

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Mountain mahogany

I took this photo a few weeks ago so I could ID when I got back home. I always recognize it and associate it with good mule deer habitat but can never remember what it is.

 

[Bull_n_heat]

I took this photo a few weeks ago so I could ID when I got back home. I always recognize it and associate it with good mule deer habitat but can never remember what it is.

I'm pretty sure it's a Current (Ribes sp). That's one we would probably have on the list if we were to just focus on fall foods. There are several different species of it, but generally they are all excellent browse. We have it in western WY, but when I see it in Utah or Colorado I always assumer it either is a different species, or tends to get a lot bigger down there. I'll have to pay attention a little closer the next time I'm south of here.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

I'm pretty sure it's a Current (Ribes sp). That's one we would probably have on the list if we were to just focus on fall foods. There are several different species of it, but generally they are all excellent browse. We have it in western WY, but when I see it in Utah or Colorado I always assumer it either is a different species, or tends to get a lot bigger down there. I'll have to pay attention a little closer the next time I'm south of here.

I used two different plant ID apps that both identified it as mountain mahogany. Apparently those curly fuzzy seeds are a good way to differentiate them from similar looking shrubs.

Good to know about the currants though I'll have to learn to spot those too.

 

[BBob]

used two different plant ID apps that both identified it as mountain mahogany. Apparently those curly fuzzy seeds are a good way to differentiate them from similar looking shrubs.

It looks just like the mountain mahogany we have down here in Coues deer country. They’ll eat it at certain times of the year as well.

 

[Bull_n_heat]

I used two different plant ID apps that both identified it as mountain mahogany. Apparently those curly fuzzy seeds are a good way to differentiate them from similar looking shrubs.

Good to know about the currants though I'll have to learn to spot those too.

Well shoot - You got me! I thought those fuzzy seeds looked like a mahogany, but the leaves looked off at first glance.

Good reminder to take any plant advice from a fish guy with a dose of skepticism! Also a good reminder that the seeds/flowers of any plant are usually the best way to ID them definitively.

 

[Sundodger]

Other than Wyoming Wildflowers app, what other apps are people using and happy with?

One of those apps that can ID off a picture you take sounds pretty nice.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Other than Wyoming Wildflowers app, what other apps are people using and happy with?

One of those apps that can ID off a picture you take sounds pretty nice.

PlantNet is a good app.

They also have a web page you can just add your photos to and it will ID them quickly if you don't have the app.

Identify, explore and share your observations of wild plants

Pl@ntNet is a tool to help to identify plants with pictures.

identify.plantnet.org

 

[Macegl]

I took this photo a few weeks ago so I could ID when I got back home. I always recognize it and associate it with good mule deer habitat but can never remember what it is.

View attachment 842472

There are two different types of mountain mahogany. This (pictured) is true leaf mountain mahogany, it looks similar to currant, and has a similar size and shape as a serviceberry bush, at least where I’m familiar with it in Southern Utah. As you mentioned the seed heads are the give away.
The other type, which Luke had pictured is Curl Leafed Mountain Mahogany. Where I’m at Curl Leafed Mountain Mahogany ranges in form from a shrub to a 10 ft tree. Same seed head though. And both are used by deer and elk especially in the winter.

 

[dgfavor]

Great thread! Thanks for posting! I have been inadvertently taking photos of apparently deer food on my property without even realizing it thru the years!


I have always called this stuff mahogany, don't know if that's right - seems to provide great cover/bedding and browse. It is usually in full leaf during the "general" and early seasons making deer almost impossible to spot:

Once the leaves come off, it makes critters a little more susceptible....and maybe when leaves come off it shifts where/what/how they have to go to browse/eat - ?? :

 

[MallardSX2]

Thanks for posting this. I always wondered what some of those were called!

 

[mtnrunner260]

There are two different types of mountain mahogany. This (pictured) is true leaf mountain mahogany, it looks similar to currant, and has a similar size and shape as a serviceberry bush, at least where I’m familiar with it in Southern Utah. As you mentioned the seed heads are the give away.
The other type, which Luke had pictured is Curl Leafed Mountain Mahogany. Where I’m at Curl Leafed Mountain Mahogany ranges in form from a shrub to a 10 ft tree. Same seed head though. And both are used by deer and elk especially in the winter.

You know your plants when true and curl leaf get discussed!
We have some stands of curl leaf in northern UT that get heavy use. The true is functionally unavailable to deer since it's all high lined.

 

[TaperPin]

I really enjoy information like this if for no other reason than it adds to background knowledge on how deer live. However, I can’t help but feel some folks use this information to actually select hunting areas? I honestly don’t know. We glass, find deer, kill them, and only then notice what they may be eating. Without the benefit of local knowledge of where deer hang out, are folks looking for these plants during the day hoping for hooves to show up later in the evening?

 

[Macegl]

I really enjoy information like this if for no other reason than it adds to background knowledge on how deer live. However, I can’t help but feel some folks use this information to actually select hunting areas? I honestly don’t know. We glass, find deer, kill them, and only then notice what they may be eating. Without the benefit of local knowledge of where deer hang out, are folks looking for these plants during the day hoping for hooves to show up later in the evening?

I mainly use it in two ways, and both are early in my scouting.

One is e-scouting as I can get a decent idea by shades of green what plants might potentially be there, and if it’s worth checking out in person.

The other is just as I’m passing through country, I keep a mental log of places that would be worth scouting, based on the plants that are there.

 

[Alpine4x4]

Cant wait for the fall episode. This is very valuable information to have to key in on deer areas and for landowners so we know what to try and bolster on our properties.

Plantnet is an excellent app. It was able to identify service berry that was heavily browsed on our property.

 

[Andyram_18]

This thread is awesome. For a long time I have wondered which plants were which, Great work, and thank you!

 

[Alpine4x4]

A good example of the "saw" pattern on the serviceberry bush. Picture taken this fall.



Not sure what a lot of this is, but it makes good bedding areas in the late summer (you can see the beds if you look hard). Surrounded by cheat grass and balsam root and provides a good edge cover in the draws. Have acres of it in the bigger draws on our land and the grouse love it. Usually has a few small aspen stands coming up in it as well as Thimble Berries, Choke Cherries, Mulberries, etc. Not sure if anything there is good deer browse though? Also, how do you go about getting rid of the cheat grass?

 

[robby denning]

I really enjoy information like this if for no other reason than it adds to background knowledge on how deer live. However, I can’t help but feel some folks use this information to actually select hunting areas? I honestly don’t know. We glass, find deer, kill them, and only then notice what they may be eating. Without the benefit of local knowledge of where deer hang out, are folks looking for these plants during the day hoping for hooves to show up later in the evening?

me too, learned it all backwards (see the deer, notice what they eat) but these discussions with Luke have been mind-opening

 

[AHayes111]

For my part of the country, I would have to rate skunk brush sumac as number one for deer food during the summer, fallowed by snowberry. Winter time big sage is kind of down the list. Rabbit brush, winterfat and yucca are more popular. Deer will also hammer ponderosa pine that has fallen over or broken off.