Plants every mule deer hunter should know

[Bull_n_heat]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge bull n heat. This is the same plant in early July. It seemed to be near water/seep areas. I didn't see evidence that it was being browsed in July but later in September it was trampled to hell everywhere I found it : from the edge of a meadow near a pond to small openings in the woods. Is this something that has no nutritional value until it dies, which was right (coincidentally?) BEFORE the first frost? Does the first frost/ensillage change what alot ofndeer eat at that time in early autumn? Thanks!

That taller plant is definitely corn lilly. I'm not overly familair with them, but if you're seeing deer going after them hard, I'll pay attention in the future.

There's a couple smaller forbs in this photo too (the "mesic forbs" @24valve referenced). I see perhaps geranium, baneberry and what looks like false Solomons Seal (among others), which underscores the importance of a community of plants that deer will use (as opposed to keying in on one particular plant). Good stuff!

 

[CFarny7]

awesome post. thank you.

 

[4weight]

Very cool thread. Just found this one very helpful.

 

[Username22]

Great info! Thank you for sharing!

 

[tyrenlds]

Very helpful - thank you!

 

[Jakelap]

thank you for sharing! I’ve been trying to find this type of stuff for a long time. Will help me up on my first out of state hunt!

 

[Idhunter777]

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).
View attachment 839131
View attachment 839132

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.
View attachment 839133

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).
View attachment 839140
View attachment 839139

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!

View attachment 839141
View attachment 839142


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

I have been telling myself I need to learn more about fauna especially for deer hunting. This is a great resource, thank you for taking the time to put this together

 

[back_eddy]

What a valuable resource, thank you.