vaste k anne ery Sedo eed = 7 4 “7 - oe mn ul - hay a AV ~~ Cf} (FM é/- tC) ’ UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE Rerion 8 Albuquerque, New Mexico Hugh G. Calkins Resional Conservator NOTES OW WATIVE AND isAOTIC PLANTS IN REGI LON & “itn Special NePerence To Their Value In soil Conservation Program By Leslie N. Goodding Associate SHotanist Nursery Section October 15, 1938.. The FORD WoO HD Artificial revegetation in Region 8 has passed through varying stages of development, and has now reached the point where its significance in the soil conservation program is becoming apparent. We have all seen the results that can be accom- plished by natural revegetation under management. Management alone will not suffice in all cases; we know that in those difficult situations where nature needs help, the best thought, judgment, end experience of trained men are required. I have read the manuscrivt with great interest, end wish to commend it to the field men of Region 8, both es valuable technica] material and as good reading. Mr. Gooddinz's notes should be a most valuable reference work to those who are engaged in revegetetion activities. They will be useful to the leyman es well as to the technician who knows botany. Hugn G. Calkins, Regional Conservator. #27 INTRODUCT LON The following notes are not compiled with any thought that hey constitute the last word. No claim is laid to infallibility. Often the statements represent the opinion of the writer. The notes, it is hoped, will be thought-provoking and will help the field men to a better understanding of the plants of the region. Common names are given where possible and these are in- eluded in the index. It was planned at first to include a botanical key but it was found that cuch a key of necessity would be very technical and voluminous. If the field man becomes interested in any plant or plants, he om obtain a determination by sending specimens to the Regional Nursery Section. If this cannot be determined readily at Albuquerque the plant in question will be forwarded to “ashington. It is often very difficult to determine specimens from "scraps". An adequate specimen is pressed and con- tains stems, leaves, flowers, and if possible, fruits. The Soil Conservation Service men in Albuquerque, and even those in the National Herbarium at Washington, are not for the most part wizards, so if you wish plants determined, scnd in adequate matcrial. The notes do not constitute a manual. Perhaps the first plant you will wish to look up will be one not discussed. Your suggestions fora revised edition will be greatly supraueae Plants marked with en asterisk (*) are considered to have the greatest erosion control or forage value. .* en i ot tea , ’ , i ; . : * r : i A . ‘ . \ re ' ' ‘ | ‘ 1 an ' p f i PTERIDOPHYTES Egquisetum sppe The Scouring Mushes are not so comion in the Southwest as ‘they are in the more humid parts of the United States. °' They, however, are not infrequent in swampy places along mountain ee ones The root system makes of these plants an ideal soil binder but there are many other plants which sre less moisturc-loving which arc to be preferred. These scouring rushes must be considered weeds. They are frequently reported as causing intcrnal disturbances in stock and for this reason sre listed among the poisonous plants. The scouring rush is indclibly associated with childhood. What little girl has not woven curls, braccl¢ts nnd crowns of the jointed stoms of the scouring rush? Mersiton vestita, Pern Clover, is only mentioned here because of ee Gclime aopoerance during certain seasons. Since it is eortain vo attract attention 1t ts well to note some things about mc, During the summer of 1937, following the rains which mace numerous saya lakes in certain noarts of enstern Nev iexico, this plant came 1 abundence and when the lnkes dried up the entire lake beds were covered. by e solid green carpet of this little fern ally. Hany withows examining it carefully take it to be a clover. - Ovhers think it is an Oxelis. A slight exnmination, however, reveals at the base of the plants little brown nut-like struetures, slightly smaller than peas. These are the fruiting bodies and contain the spores. This plant. has been rather persistently reported to be poisonous to sheev, This revort, however, has not been definitely verified. PYTHAOBAR Jt Ly Typha latifolia, the common Cattail, has an extremely wide eee distribution. In our range it is found almost every place where there is adequate swampy land, As it grows only in situations cad where the water is still, it has little value as an erosion control nlante tho fresh shoo Pp 1 ts are occasionally used for food, cspecially Q by the Indians. The tops ere not browsed by stock. ON Tap A ATS FG) AS ce fey *Ephedra sinica.s Among our most successful exotics is the Ephedra, which is the source of tho drug Ephedrine. Under cultiva- tion it grows rapidly end produces fruits in great abundance. ants established at Fresnal and Continontal, Arizona, withstand the drought well, growing without irrigation. They have not, how- evyor, up oo the present, escaped ane run wild, the finel test of “a go0C. exovle Lor cesert Sycctatenee ecdlings planted on the rifle FENG wesy of Tucson wider strictly diode conditions but with the Sdvenuleo OL conbouring.., secm to be: living) through Une wery dry part of the scasone is CL pt VES og ee eg a EPO Bae CNETACEAE If in the future strains of this and other Ephedras can be found or developed which contain the active principle Ephedrine in com- mercial quantities they can well be expected to become commercial crops in our warmer regions. if *iphedra viridis, Mormon Tea. This is one of our best native Bphoarass TE has a Wi wide range but reaches its optimum development n the Navajo region north and west of the Carrizozo Mountains. Here ~ it covers thousands of acres where it has taken edvantage of condi- tions of grazing adverse to other plants. It is not hard to conceive whet this country would be like without this and the prickly muhly. It would be lilte vast areas to the east -- merely bare rock. This plant supplies abundant foraze for sheep and scems to thrive under abusee Menyvy referenccs can be fownd to the uscs made of this and other native Nphedras as eee Tests have shown that they con- tain no Ephedrine. Can it bo that tests ended here? Plants so uni- versally used must contain some active ee worth the effort to locate and studi. Othor native Ephedras of the Southwest which scem to be in= forior to 4, viridis but which should be studied when a real attempt eee pares ar Sen to locate the active principle of these plants is made, are E. antisyphilitica, i. ncvadensis, E. trifurca and E, torreyana. These ee ee <= ne eee ee ne ne a ae ne ee + meee me es eee eeteee are all gonerally | lmovn os Mormon Tea. PINACHAE 7 *Juniperus pachyphloea, Al oe ne el ee le ligator Bark Juniper. The part the junipers should play in our erosion control program is somowhat of a riddle. The part they are vlaying is evident to anyone who ob«= serves as he travels. The junipcr trees alroady occupy millions of acres which if the land were not thus occupied, would at presont be barren and wind ll a SY attempcs at exo os our woodlands type cither in We « A rovense of osteblishing farms or grass areas, should be studied with avowed Se aad in favor of the existing troes. The utilization of wood end posts is legitimate but it should SUcranoce a Similan cover to irct turrie The juniper forcsts are an enormous source of revenue; the trecs protect the land against rapid crosion of water and wind ond with proper grazing permit the growth of an sbundeant grass cover. The juniper twigs are browsed by game onimals and decor, re ily, Patten on the berries when thoy fall. The fruits of J. pachyphloca amd J. monosperma have been x utilized by Indions for food. In many of our s@™ll towns | juniper is the chief fuel wood on the Panelete A general plan of planting juniper, however, seems to be uncalled for. Properly managed, the PINACEAR forests will take care of themselves and continue to yield their revenue to mane The use of the junipers for ornamentals and for wind breaks will probably be much greater in the future, The cut- ting and mutilation of large allizator bark juniper should be dis- couraged. The trees are used only for wood and posts and the com- mon practice is to cut the limbs which will not leave the wood chop- per too fatigued after his job is done. In the nursery the seeds of this species and of J. utahensis have proved difficult to germinate. | en ee re Any discussion of the utilization of junipers in woodlot, shelter belt, for erosion control or of the protection in the wood= land forest, is not complete without reference to the very serious diseases which affect them. Several Gymmosporangia cause severe damage to small trees and distortion of large ones. All of these have other hosts than the juniper and their elimination from an existing juniper area or from a planting program which might bring them into association with junipers, will effectively control the Gisecses. The planting of the following in association with junipers is not a guarantee of the immediate attack by disease but their elimination does guarantee continued freedom from the disease of which they are alternate hosts: The Service Berrics (Amelanchier spp.), Haws (Cratacgus sppe), Mountain Ash (Sorbus spp.), Desert Crabapple (Perapr: vyllun ramosis- simun), Mock Orange (Philadelphus S0pe or Fendlera SPPe and ee en ee SE itn ae ee ee nee ewe Wemetoinas californica. Apples and pears are likely to peuce trouble with the esstern Ted Juniper and one variety of pear is attacked by a Gymnosporangia which attacks the alligator bark juniper near Prescott. There may be an excuse for taking a chance on plant- ing fruit trees but it is hardly necessary to use the above mentioned hosts in association with junivers when there are many other plants which can be substituted, * Juniperus monosperma, Gne-Seeded Juniper. This juniper has been discussed somewhat in connection with Je pachyphloca and Je of utehensise in nursery work it has the advantage in thet the seeds are easy to germinate. In at least one locality what we have been calling the one-secded juniper grows to be a very handsome shapely trec with.a single trunk. This is in the Sycamore Canyon region of southern Arizona. The trees in this region also produce a fruit that is very juicy and sweet, almost fit for human consumption. A fair supply of seed of this was collected in the fall of .1937 for nursery a else Another type of the one-seeded juniper grows in westce Texas and southern New Mexico. It is very low, much ee See shrub-like and produces a bronze colored fruite a “a saith He ee (SOT a6 PINACEAE *Juniperus scopulorum, “ocky Mountain Juniper. This syecies closely “reseoles the eastern red juniper. It is a very handsome tree with straight bole and drooping twigs. It frequently forms thickets at the heads of draws where rapid erosion would be likely to occur if the trees were not present. t, however, grows only at relatively high altitudes (5,000-8,000 feet). It is more rapid srowing than our other native junipers and is much more suitable for an ornamental. *Juniperu enone Utah Junipere This is sometimes con-= fused with the so-called one-seeded jrmiper, Juniverus monosperma. ee ta a ee ee OE ee ee ep Oe Ca The former is commonly coarser, usually more tree-like and has a. large fibrous onc-soeded fruit. The latter is more slender, usually has abundant trunks from a single base and has small juicy one= seeded fruits. Zach is to be found in vure stand covering thousands of acrese The Utah juniper is usually considered superior to the single-seeded juniper because of its more trec-like habits which yield better posts. It, howcver, becomes somewhat of a weed in places, encroaching rapidly on praging land when it becones overe grazcde This is the condition over large areas between Ashfork and Prescott for cxample. Pseudotsuza taxifolia, the Douglas vir, is too widely known to need discussion here. As is kmown, it is one of our best forest trees. This applies to the Southwest as well as to the Rocky Moun- tains and the Northwest. It, however, is not suitable for erosion control work in any of the projects now under consideration as it grows at too high an altitude. Cupressus arizonica, the Arizona Cypress, is one of our best lmown and most widely appreciated trecs in the Southwest. Ge see grayishegreen cedar-like evergreen troc native to the canyons and mountain slopes in the southwestern ranges at altitudes of 3,000 to 7,000 or 8,000 fect. Cupressus arizonica var. bonita closely resem= .-| bles this species. It reaches its optima development in the Chiricahua Mountains (Chiricahue National ! Monument) ond in northern Mexico. dn congested stands and in deep canyons it frequently reaches a height of seventy feet and a diameter of one and one-half fect or more. It reaches its greatest altitudinal range in the Chiricahua eaten there appearing on the crest of the main range as c'low spreading tree of striking beauty. Doubtless tho species and variety are used indiscriminately on the market. Balled trees can be purchnsed in many of the Southwest and Pacific Coast nurseries. The greatest value of this tree is for ornament and hade but its rought resistance sugzests it for woodland planting ond for binding rocks and soil in canyons. In the mountains above Clifton and in the Sedona section of Arizonn it is severely attacked by a fungus, Gymnosporangium cupressie ae ee eee 6 ee nn ee / 2icen sop. Thro species of true Spruce extend into the South~ west. Both occur in the Rocky Mountains to the north and extend on Vee cnr a itr ie a fe LS Sareea P NA oyna vy 7 14 ad south into northern New Mexico and northern Arizona, They occur only at quite high altitudes and are hardly suitable for erosion control practices. They are frequently used, however, for ornamen- tals for street, park and cemetery plantings at altitudes of 4,000 by feet or less as one goes north. The species are Picee pungens, the Colorado Blue Spruce, and |. engelmannii, the Enclemenn ot Spruce j ~~ ees Abies spo. Two true irs occur in the Southwest,eA. lasiocarpa extends fron Alaska southward into the Cascades of southern Oregon and in the Reckies to the mountains of northern Arizona and northern New Mexico. In the southern portion of its ranze it is frequently called the Arizona Fir CS earizonica). A. concolor, or common ‘ihite ¢ Fir, occurs from northern Oregon into Lower California and from southern Colorado along the Rockies into northern Mexico. The latter is frequently a very large tree, sometimes 250 feet high and six feet in diameter. It is frequently used for ornamental plantings and may prove of value for erosion control work to a limited extent at alti-~ tudes of 5,000 fect or more. A jasiocarpa grows only at high alti- tudes in our range. *Pinus edulise The most common of our Pinon pines is P. edulis. It extends from the “voning line into western Texas and northern Mexico and is scattered over most of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Yew Mexico, It, with the other pinons and junivers, makes‘ up most of the woodland tyvve of forest in the Southwest, Too much has been writ- ten about the pinons to call for reiteration here, Perhaps few realize, however, the enormous economic importance of these trees,- from the Sanne es of water and wind erosicn control, fire wood, posts, and most of all, nuts. ‘when one notes a few packets of the shelled nuts in contectionery stores or a Geshe! or so of the un- shelled nuts in the grocery store, he commonly fails to multiply these small amounts in his mind by the thousands of stores in which they occur. Many car-loads are shinved each year ie markets in the east, to say nothing of the quantities consumed by school children locally. These nuts are collected by the Indians eae solely and sold to traders at prices ranging from five to ten cents per pound. Ags retailed the price is much =z The pinon is not being grovm oxtensively in our nurseries 2 eo YO] J for the reason that where it is most necded it is usually present. ft is likely, however, that very gradually suverior strains will be planted cither for rapid growth or for superior nuts. Of alli the pinon nuts on the market it is safo to say 80% are from Pinus edulis, Cther species may be bettor for the vroduction of big nuts. Samples brought from southern Uteh indiente thet P. monophylla produces a much larger nut, ct loast in sone localitics. E-nty shells found below a treo on Superstition Mountain were casily threc times as lenge as the;mornmal binon nut, The Singlo-leaf Pinon PB mon 1ovhylla), a on (>) oe \ » 7: Eas | oy Wyte} od wort ee. en er ay Ne ade be Ve ; Ul PINACEAE however, seems to produce many empties and those sampled were not so well flavored. Reports come to us that the best pinon nut comes from southern California and northern Lower California. It is the nut from the Parry Pine (P. quadrifolia). Thus far we have failed to collect nuts of our pinon so common, in the extreme southwestern ranges, i.sc., FP. cembroides, and at present our information on their ort eens impor tance is nil. Other pines than the pinons produce edible nuts. One, P. strobiformis, the Ifexican ‘ihite Pine, produces nuts comparable in size to those produced by P. edulis. These are sometimes sold on the market as pinon nuts ‘along the * Mexican border or were in the paste The Torrey Pine, the Digger Pine and the Coulter Pine, all oroduce nuts of ee size. Very extravagent statements have been made about the nuts produced by P. pinea, an exotic, and the numbor © of people they feed. All these ané the pinons are too slow growing to warrant the nurseries in cs g certain selections. Such work must be left to other agencies. OQur own men can rendor a ser-~ vice to future gcnerations i. reporting the exact location of trees producing nuts of superior size or quality. GRAMINEAE *Agropyron eristatum, Crestcd Wheat Gress, has been introduced long enough that it is considored naturalized in many placcse Some years back it was tried out by the Forest Service at Flagstaff but the results at that time were not promising. Recently Dr. Raymond sowed it on his ranch near Plugstaff and he reports excellont results. Tho difference is probably due to strain or to the source of the seed used. Dr. Hardics in his exvcrimental work is finding that seed from grasses brought from the north, for example from the Dakots.s, commonly does not respond so well at Tucson as secd produced in warmer sections. Crested Wheat is being tricd on the Rio Grande and the Navajo projects. lr. Musgrave reports very excellent results with it at Mexican Springs. An interesting feature of his work and one which may prove very significant later is that Crested ‘heat Grass and »estern Wheat Grass planted in association, have hybridized. What part this hybrid will play of course remains to be seen. Crest- ed “heat is one of our most promising exotics for our dry southwestern conditions. It is not suitable for our low altitudes such as those around Tucson and on most of the Cila projects. *Acropyron smithii, Western Wheat Grass, has such a wide distribution that this discussion will be limited to observations made in the Southwest. This species is one which in the struggle : 3 ; -o@ sd om yi mall we Pete (3 = fh Ge Sad eee Se ers care | a Soe ye: leg Sem Seen 7 7 y ; i i vfes dim J Ap jeer Esha rvEt eer hj GRAMINEAE for existence in the Navajo region has apparently adjusted itself to the adverse conditions of drought and over grazing in the South- west. In snite of its resistance to drought the chief limiting factor seems to be lack of moisture. It hugs the swales where there is some over-flow, creeps into the low places along the high- ways, and spreads with apparent reluctance to the drier sites in brushy flats and slopese 1s a soil erosion control plant it is excellent because it occupies the places where the slightest run- off gives a little added moisture and the long rhizomes tend to bind the soil. Often the lower places are heavily sodded and the culms and leaves of the grass form exccllent desilters. Unfortuna- tely the grass is rather unpalatable to sheep and goats, or pos- ibly this is fortunate. While this species is ono which forms extensive upland meadows in the Dakotas and eastern Colorado, with us it is usually quite scattering except in meadow stretches such as occur at Bluewatcr, New Moxico, whore the grass is irrigated. This species is of doubtful value at altitudes below 4,000 fcet with Z Since seed can commonly be obtained on the market, no attempt is being made to raise this species in the nursery. In fact the grass is so much more abundant in other sections that we do not attempt to collect seed, It is probable, however, that strains can be selected and propagated in the nurseries which are more drought-resistant than those normally found in the Dakotas or Colorado, The hybrids of this, with crested wheat grass, should receive special attention. Alopecurus ventricosus.e Observational work on the range may change our conception of many of our exotics. ‘while this grass is low and not likely to produce much forage, its rhizomatous habit may make it more valuable than others. Its resistance to drought has not been asccrtained, *Andropogon glomeratus, Bushy Beard Grass, is widely distri- buted from New England to California by way of the southern states. In the Southwest it is a rare grass, being found only in deep cay yons as the Grand Canyon, Fish Creek and Sycamore Canyons in Arizona. It can commonly be distinguished by its long spathes or bracts which extond beyond the very plumose seeds, and by its purplish color. The culms are strongly tufted from o dense, hard base which has numerous long, fibrous roots. Where it can be porsuaded to grow, that is in plnces where there is some moisture, it is an excellent soil binder. Up to the present too little is kmown about its palatability and tho situations in which it will grow, to make it a significant grass in our erosion control work. ‘Since it grows weil in the nursery, however, it should be tried in suitable situa- tions in connection with our observational program. ° <_cerond eummr rat oN) PII Rely : GRAMINEAR /ndropogon hallii, or Turkeyfoot, is widely distributed in the central states west of the Mississippi and in the Rocky Moun- tain regions. It also grows in Iowa. It is a tall, coarse grass with plumose seed heads which grows by choice in very sandy regions. Jt has large, creeping rhizomese In eastern New Mexico and Colorado it is an excellent sand binder. A grass which is considered. to be the same species but which has peculiar yellow heads, grows in the Navajo region, This is called A, chrysocomus by some authors. It is also a good sand binder. a ae oe *Andropogon furcatus, Bluejoint Turkeyfoot, is a grass quite similar to A. ane a foe fae shorter rhizomes cl the finger-like divisions of the seeding heads are narrower and less plumose. It grows in all the states of the Union except California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. In the Southwest, however, it is relative- ly rare. From eastorn New Mexico eastward and northward it becomes of much greater importance. It is comparable to 4. hallii as a sand binder. *ANGLO LO scoparius, the Prairic Beardgrass, grows in all of the states of the United States except California, Nevada, Oregon and washington. It is probably most abundant in the central western states where it is ao very important range grass. It is frequently called Little Blue Stem and can be recognized by its bushy habit, eas tinge, single spikes of flowers and flexuous beards. Within Region 8 it is commonly very scattering but nevertheless an inporteant part of the grass cover. it is common in eastern New Mexico and the upland région east of Plegstaff. With us it is not commonly considered a highly palatable grass. ane meee eran eneee renee me: Se Perhaps ‘A. barbinodis should be considered along with acchsroides. The two are very similar, cannot be ree dis nee hed im the piewarenca have a similar range in 'egion 8. Perhaps ane chief point in favor of this srass is its ability to reproduce itself and “carry on" on the range. It has been tried successfully on small scale seeding nerations in the past. It commonly occupies swales, strips along old roads and trails and other places where there is a little excess moisture. It is a fair soil binder and makes Eee forage when youne.s seed is difficult to collect exeept by hand as the plants ere too tall for the use of power machinery. No attempt has been made UO rhise vils species on incroase plots in the nurserics Andropogon Seeley) Silver ae Gros a Andropogon cirratus, Texas Beard Grass, Although this species can hardly be considorcd a forn of A. scoparius, it is very similar t in t and environment. It is also comparable ta it as a binder and probably s Semen Y superior as OA e Oe. pee epecues idom Pound in pure stands and occurs in suck nos GRAMINEAE seed cannot be collected by means of machinery. No attempt has been made up to the present to raise it in the nurseries and it has not been planted in the field. Aristide sop. Most of the Three-Avms may well be considered reeds on the ranges They are almost without exception indicators of an overgrazed condition. They are unpalatable and for the most part not excentional as erosion control plants. One of these, ex- ceedingly common throuchout the Southwest, is an annual which is abundant along highways and in waste places. This is Asadscensionis, Six-Weeks Three Awn, an introduction from the old world. In sovth- ern Arizona, southern New Mexico and extending southward through Mexico into South eee is A. ternipes or Spider Gress, a grass two to three feet hish. In Senta Cruz County in Arizone in many places it forms nure one The vervy loose panicles give rise to the name Spider Grass. Although it forms e complete ground cover In Dipehsy cae stand is eee dense. Its palatability is relatively low and its «rosion control valuc is certainly not cqual to such grasses as the Doutelcuas. A somewhat similar thrcce-awm is -\. greneane © r Begearstick Grass. It is less common but more widely distributed from Texas to southern California than is Ae tornipes. tt seldom forms pure stands and on the whole is less valuable. It may be said in passing that these two three-awns, A. ternipes and eet Roe eee as orcuttiona, arc poorly named. They do not have three avmse Iwo f the awms in each case arc rudimentary. For this reason they have = confused with the Stipas and the ‘uhlenbergias. a Aristida divaricata or Poverty Three-Awn, is widely distri- buted from Kansas to southern “alifornic. On hundreds of square miles of overgrazed uplands it ey abundant. Perhaps it should be considered a godsend in the land that man hes mutilated. As it is unpalatable and promoted Py mie ceil on it has an opportunity to occupy land which would otherwise be barron. Aristiaa barbate, the Hevard Three-Awn, extends from western Texas to Arizona and central J'exico. It is much more common with on the plains of northern and eastern New Mexico than elsewhere. is a low grass with very open panicles which break off at matur- ity and roll about in masses before the wind. It is valueless as foraze but is sufficiently abundant in pieces to be a fair. soil binder. Aristida cues ana, Fondier Three-4ym, is widely dcistri- buted throuzh_ the With us it is very common in the plains country of ase gear and northern Arizona, frequently forn- ing almost pure stand the others, howcver, its abundance indicates ranre abuse. I 5 perhavs one of the better Aristidas and is a fair soil binder, -1lO8 eh eM S ae: Ts 2a by wi aes ng cposimerie gee fi ela gata, fale mh GRAMINDAT *\ristida glabrata, Smooth Three-iwn, is a dense bunch grass found in our range only ne southern Arizona. It extends also into lower California. According to Professor J. J. Thornber of the University of Arizona, this ‘is excellent forage grass. It is suf. ficiently abundant in some places to b¢ considered a good soil banders Aristida hamulosa is a eiheun es very closely resembling the Poverty Three-Awn and often confused with ite According to Titcheock's wlanual of Grasses it is more common in Arizona than the Poverty Three-fvm. Its range is from Texas to southern California and south to Guatemala. Three other sristidas which are more or less abundant in the uthwest aro -\. longi soun, ed Thrcosiwms «6 purpurascens, frrovwe ie anc A. pansa, sooton Hach one of these i S ry wee Seen fo) c recea/rn bundant in places but none are outstanding for forage or as aristida pinanta, Pinnate Three-/ivm, tnlow reports this nee ee een Cee ren ene ee erass to be remarkable as a sand binder in Asia ilinor. There it grows large nee forms spreading clumps which are effective soil binders in send dunes. Im the nursery at Tucson this and a couple and thus far do not come up to of varioties aro rather indifferent é ‘icod extensively, howevor, they expectations, Until they will not be given up. sand dune regions of Texas and New Mexico, in the ting se nlong the Kio Grande and in yie Shinnerics of castorm New liexico, this species or its varictics may Pin aco. Unfortunatcly we arc not in a position ou observational rlote in these regions. “Wat 4 5: wp ~ a) Ws, ~ ad 3A Saivewes. lage 2s Oe COMI ORY sinlcean Ca ,Oony Or our : iano es et AN hay Sees 2 i $ ns Cx GULLS COmMMOnR Names Whol Wis Likes &Pass . A en Pane from its ver7 long slender curved ms are two foot or more in length, ; as doth culms and leaves und. The culms and secd e this appears to be a 1 Ee pe) A a OD Be 03 (3) + Sire] spikes of this sovecics arc coarse. hd grass Wwoll adapted to our warmer sites, its use may be the difficulty in collecting the secd, the to mow because of the recurved habit of st *Astreble olimoides. This mizht be ealled the slender rat- Ue Lt wey 7 one |e aa ~ & ». ae ' NN +1 Aba a a tall as the secd spikes are much more slender than the last named 4 Weeks! 5 ~ ¥ 7 5 2 ’ React iebateos ies ee pa es} = 5 species, it is very sinilar in habit and probably the two could A ae : Pe be used indiscriminately Pe er Wh . Koa!) § SLSR TE ~~ *Boutelous. curtivenduls, Side Oats Grama, is one of our most videlv distributed gram. grasses but it seldom forms puro stands of largo extent, being usually mixed with other grasses such as the Blue, Rothrock or Spruco gramas, It is excclient forego and with- Stonga grogine tori wolle. it our best from the stance- point of secd gerninztion and ease of production in the nursorye In eed to avoid the necessity of travel cond the expense of hande- poing we have planted seventy-five acres in the nurserics,. vince is lends itself so well to cultivation we should look forward to having formers and ranchers procuce cur seed. ere restricted in its forms pure stands over 1936 seed vas collected southern New lexico “Ce 7 seed collecting was the staff region. it hes been stated that it requires o lime_soil but this is not always evidont from casual observations. For example, a luxurious stand was located in the foothills of the Baboquivari “ounteins, a rezion larsely composed of igneous rocks. 7 stoloniferous it does no ° a hake ~ n ie Vr oater - ema, ihe phe. howev U aonr ra obtoin vood sced of goo former not infrequont- SRCUSL OC TOM: Veet lias -five acres at the should be able to as~ for seed productions w RAMINEAR *Routeloua gracilis, 5lue Grama, is probably suited to a wider range of conditions in the Southwest than any other grass. It is a grass, however, that has surfered severely from overgrazing and from ill-advised attempts at dry land farming. Our conditions in these respects are no different from those in eastern Tolorado, kansas and Nebraska, there are wide stretches of country in eastern New loexico,. formerly in Blue Grama, which have been plowed and later abandoned, the land coming up to ecnuel weeds such as “'ussian Thistle. On the overgrazed areas the common weed coming in the wake of the grass is one of several svecies of Turventino eed (Gutierrezia). These are variously revorted as being acceptable browse to being seriously poisonouse Jt is certain that in some sections stock poisoning occurs when there is practically nothing on the ranzse but the ture pontine bush. Available moisture seems to play a very important part in the behavior of the turpontine bush and the Dlue Grama, In 1934 the drought wag so severe in southern New !exico that the tur- yentine bush came on by the thousands. It seems likely that the grass on a properly managed rauge would take advantage of a situa- tion like this as the small peed ace can but poorly compete with the oe 56 One thing is certain, the crass is better equipped to withstand drought than most of the accompanying vegetation. Dre Le ie eee Assistamt Agronomist at our nursery at Pine, Arizona, is growing Blue Grama from several localities. There S @ great variation in the species and doubtless some forms with~ eeane extreme abuse better than others. for examnvle, we have one strain from the west slope of the liuechucas which eencsaae the trampling of stoer, turkcys and chickens in a barnyard. ilr. LH, 4, Telford, Menoger of the Soil Conservation Service Nursery at Colorado Spring Colorado, has ae clump in his nursery that is cs; strongly rhizomatous. grog this species is sufficiently abundant on the range that it should ee be necessary to grow it on the nursery for seed eee it seems likely that choice ranges recciving some over- flow should bo selected and cared for to a lo Se ssure the production each year of a =e grade of seed. in the not cistant future, also, definite strains doubtless should be grovm to suit certain condit~ ions, To as nee the feasibility of growing this species for seed production 2 fiveeacre plot has been plantec at Shiprock, New Mexico. Blue Gramo is not uncommon in southern Mew Mexico and in southern Arizona. Under tho -ore severe crow sunt conditions there, however, it docs not survive overzrazing as well aS 26 does Turtaer north. . - . t . \% va ot = . ‘ . i art. Fa eee awe wie fi Ne A aad vesen NWA tay et aa 1 bly BLUE GRAMA ( Bouteloua The Net fs ail. “tes me ae Ms ‘ ot ine Most leiles itd 4 \ abundant sl: Lai) nA we RK si yal grass Sar ili x enh: f ih ) Sty Myth ra wilt Al ve “4s Ne WW ais ys: Pt EN dL Ver aS hy! gracilis ) in the Southwest QPAMINTAT Wet hede b *Bouteloua chondrosioides, Spruceelop Grama. This is a grama which is confined to a “a reletively small ranze in our region. It occurs, however, in extreme western Texas and in northern “‘exico. It is a firm rooted bunch grass of excellent erosion control and forage value. Secause of the scattering nature of this species and the rough country in which it grows, an attempt will be made to raise it for seed in the nurseries at Tucson and Pima. Bouteloua eludens, Senta Cruz Grama, This very promising YASS is confined in our renee to extreme southern Arizona. It sel- dom grows in pure stan@s end has not been located in sufficient quentity ony place to warrant its collection by machinery. <'s this has excellent erosion control value and is a good forage plant, we hope to be asle to rnise it in increase plots in the nurseries at a Pim.e ‘It is a dense bunch grass with numerous short spikes to each culm and abundant basal leaves. Professor Thornber says that this erass was nened 3. eludens by Yr. Griffiths of the United States Department of Agriculture, because in spite of the extensive collections and careful study of grasses in southern fyizona by Professor Thornber, this porticular species had eluded him as well as other plant collectors in the region prior to Dra Giietitis" trip. to the region. Tueasar «10 UCSORn “na +Boutelous brevisota, Alicali Gramn, This is one of our rare grasses, being confined to western Texas and southern lew }exico in our range. It, however, extends into Old Mexico. ts ranse is limited possibly by its soil requirements. It grows by choice in gypsum sands or in rocky cnlcareous soils. On the borders of the yhite Sands of New Mexico it is one of the chief crresses but at that it is quite scattering. On the ridges above the Bottomless Lakes it is abundant end constitutes the chief grass. A strain of this species forms ovure stands on the rocky sloves of hills north of Von Horn, Texas. In gene 0 it resembles Blue Grama but is much more wiry and has o re woody basco. Contrary to whet might be expected this grass “rows peautifully in the nursery and produces much leafage. ‘While it docs not have a rhizomatous mse 1G svools Trocly in sandy soil ond forms a very effective erosion'control agent. As very little seed of this grass has been collected we arc gredually gething an increrse bleck through seed collected from the initial trial planting. It is well worthy of triet in very dry sitos, especially in calcarcous or gypsum soils. ct 5 Oo 3 t 5 8 @ *Boutelouc hirsuta, Ueiry Grame, closely resembles Blue Grama. Tt does not however, Nrocuco soa dense & ae and doos not cormonly form pure eae Tt is Vor(y Glliieult to Pind oneeany renege where 7 ray Je1, 4 - ~ a li Wan ead NY a Yes Lie ia " Cry ea my 5 - 4 7 wi Ge anytaing but rand strippers cam be used in seed collection. Flants GRAMINEAL from different localities show great variation, for example, those from west Texas generally have very short spikes and the plants are low, while plants of the same species from Turkey Yreek in the ishite Mountains of Arizona are tall and have long hairy spikes. The spe- cies is widely distributed in the central and southwestern states. Because of the difficulty exverienced in collecting pure seed we heave planted ten acres on the nurseries for increase *Bouteloua rothrockii. The Rothrock Grama closely remsmbles Blue Grama grass but hes several more spikes to the culms and does not form so dense a sod. by stockmen it is usually considered to be little better than the annuel Doutelouas and it is a question whether it should be planted excopt in mixture with more valuable gramas such as Side Oats and Hairy Grama. Seed germination tests have on the whole been vory disappointing but field tests on the range in the San Simon Valley have shovm promising results. Out- side of l'exico this species is confined to extreme southwestern New Mexico and extreme southern Arizone. Bouteloue barbata, Six “eeks Grama, is a grama closely re- sembling 5. rothrockii. It is probably the best of our six-weeks grasses, coming on rapidly after the summer rains begine It is a good nurse crop and makes fair forage. J. aristidoides is our other Six-weexs gramae. It is more abundant than Se Be barbata, probably because it is much less palatable. Seed can be collected of both these on limited areas by Peppard strippers. Bouteloua uniflora, Slender Side Oats Grama. This is a grama closely resembling side oats but more slender and usually not so tall. It is much more limited in its distribution, being confined, according to Hitchcock, to western Texas in our range. it is rather common in the San Antonio llountains but nowhere abundant. It is possible that it is inferior to side oats Sufficient seed has been collected to plant a smali rovw for ee er DULDOSECSe Buchloe dactyloides, Buffalo Grass, comes into Region 8 only in eastern New Fexico. 1 does not hold the sig gnificant place here that it does east of us but whet little work as been done with it indicates that it can be induced to occupy sites much further west. At oresent it is growing in lawns at the State University ond at the Soil Conservetion Service Nursery 2t Tucson. In these places it receives some irrigation, The plent, however, is eble to with= stand oxtreme drought once it becomes onuennienes. In the vilovas region in ilew Mexico the gabinetion of heavy grazing and drought koiles much of the ae. in 1934. Tho ground looked perfectly bare, scarcely 2 bare srass caudex showing,+;a veritable land of PaLGs GRAMNIN FAR desolation. As soon as rains came the buffalo grass made a remark- i puffaloe grass does not occur in our territory in sufficient vbundance to warrect seed collection. As a result we must rely on a suoply of seed from elsewhere. We plan, however, to collect enourh pistillate plants to establish a small area on the Albuquerque Nursery with just enough pistillate plants to insure fertilization. Bromus anomalus, Nodding Brome. This species is very widely distributed “throuehout range, occurring at moderate altitudes ‘with a fair rainfal : perhaos our most drought-resistont per- ennial Drones Harte as s soil erosion control plant but makos good foraze. his species is nowhere sufficiently abundant to be collected by machinery in our region and up to the present nothing more than samples of s have been collected and no nursery increase planting has becn made. pees ae Me Nae teeroace Ee Bromus carinatus, California ie In eee we obtained several pigtene pounds of ee .t we calied © a eee. (tT Arizona. according to ae is nowely a eons Be Peele. Tis ee eo oe) is very wid are dt eerieae fed throughout our ranze and f Fo the north and e: ve is per- haps our best nerennial brome for moderate to hizh lese The comparatively low altitude of our projects has orecl Sive use of. this svecies outside of the state of hohe p we have contracted for several thousand pounds, all of which will be usec. on Utan projects. ve polvanthus, at Z . peGicsS is handled much as wheat or oats, being either mowed or harvested. with a binder and threshed. It is a cron that can be grown readily by ranchrion. It is probably best to plant — seed an the fall at about ten=to twelve pounds ver acre. Bromus toctorum, Powny Chess, is a short-lived annual brome grass introdused in the United States some years ago. it has spread like wildfire in the warmcr sections of the south and southwest. Cwing to the fact that it is so short-lived anc that it drics up so ) completely, this is all out useless. In fact it is gencrally con- Sidered a nuisance or a weed, It can usually be recomnized by its ihe STEN ces Vee era ra i ,. TA) slender hebit end its Hurst eros. lois exouuc cult to conurol. coarse grass with € has if plen Ee ome of the chara Cuens. stock under any Deda n orvat any ine erowth Lstnet so lumiriant Aso chot.of GRAMINEAE Johnson grass. This is an ideal grass for swales where floods give a little extra water. It seems to be one that may be expected to escape and to carry on for itself once it is established in favor~ able sites. *Calamovilfa gigantea, Giant Sand Grass. There are several grasses which may prove very valuable in our erosion control work which must be classed as special use plants. This is true of our giant Calamovilfa. It cannot be recommended as a forage plant or even for general erosion control purposes but it is par excellence as a sand binder, particularly along dry desert washes such as are to be found in the Petrified Forest of Arizona. Its natural dis- tribution is North Dakota to Texas and west to Arizona. Not only does it have rhizomes which quite effectually bind the sand but it is of sufficient size (l-2 meters high), to check the winds. Up to 1948 we had been able to obtain only a handful of seed. This will be used in the nursery where the vlant can be kept under observa- tion and possibly a small amount of seed produced. *Chloris berroi, Finger Grass. Some of the Chlorises are an- nual weeds of “rather low palatability. This 16 anvexotic perennial which forms dense stands and seeds itself vigorously at Tucson. Up to the ovresent we have not tried any experiment to determine its palatability except that we know it is sufficiently tasty to please jack rabbits. It thrives with little irrigation but has not been tried on the range. At Shiprock it freezes out in winter but may be used as an annual in our colder regions. Chloris cucullata, Texas Finger Grass. In Western Texas this Chloris “appears more like an indifferent weed found occas- tionally along bottom lands in the foothills, but plants in the nur- sery are perhaps two feet tall and form excellent large, leafy clumps. It is a drought resistant grass which responds nicely to a little care and water. Dactylis glomerata, Orchard Grass, has been so widely dis- tributed “that we no longer think of it as an cxotic. Seed can be obtained from seed houses. It is an cxcellent meadow and pasture grass and cscapes rapidly. It is not well adapted to our desert types but grows woll in moist sites at practically all altitudes. Diesitaria erientha ver. stolonifera. This exotic is related to the Tomo crab grass found “in lavms and orchards. It is coar- ser and a more vigorous grower with long stolons. It has not been tried on the range but indications are that where there is a little extra moisture it will be an excellent soil binder and furnish good forage. It scoms hardy at Tucson. -17- GRAM INEAR Elymus gigantea. Under nursery conditions this grows very much like cat-tails in swamps, having heavy culms and coarse leaves. ‘Its forage value is probably low but its heavy rhizomatous roots suggest it as a good erosion control plant. It is a native of Siberia and has been grown in this country as an ornamental only. *Elymus sabulosuse One of the most vigorous and tenacious soil bindeér's eer aa oe cultivation is this exotic rye grass. The roots spread rapidlv and sprout abundantly. The blades are light green, coarse and harsh, and the stems are stout. the grass requires very little ea eeaa anc where sand piles among the culms the growth becomes more vigorous. This has not yet been tried on the range and no feeding experiments have been conducted. Nlyonurus barbiculmis. in the extreme soutinwest are to be found some f grasses hh hav ich have their maximum development in Mexico and which.are lit ay known to the usual agrostologist in the south- west. One of these as ilyonurus barbioulmiss Db ls a: reuner coarse gress 1+ to 2% feet high 9 with a dense mass of perennial roots. Along the Mexican line from the south end of the Huachuca Mountains to the region south of Ruby, Arizona, this is in places an imvortant part of the sreass cover anc of the available forage. It occurs also in southwestern Texas. Up to the present we have not GHC tits 20 he Murscrics, Indications in the field are Guat 16 7 should be hardy far north of its present range. This is assumed from the fact that it grows at altitudes which are cold in winter. rDistichlis stricta, Desert. Salt Grass, also often called ADkald Erass, is extremely widely distributed throughout the west and-liexicos It is a moisture and alkeli lover, being confined to moist alkali meadows. Jt is a short sress with vory sharp leaves and short spikes. It has large, often very long rhizomes. For wWhae Veason Ir constitutes an oxcollent soil binder. sacrever che water table is lowered, however, the grass soon disapvears because of water shortage. It is probably of much greater value for for- age than is generally thovebe Cattle and horses at certain sea- sons of the year are seen feeding on it in great numbers. Its palatability, however, is usually considered low. Echinochloa colomm, Jungle Nice. Throughout the south this gerass frows aS a weed on waste land and in gardens and cultivated Jands IG is very common in the nursery eat Tucson, In habit it is ee prostrate, ond cen readily be recosnizec by the rather broad leaves which are crosslined with purple. it is an annual, and may ie some value for erosion control.as a ground cover on wasteland where there is some overflow. It is not sufficiently or mnt to o 7 GRAMINEAE be considered of value for forage. |e *Eragrostis curvula, Giant Love Grass. In 194 the nursery at Tucson received a small packet of seed of Eragrostis curvula, a perennial grass from South Africa. In 1937 the first seed crop in- crease from the original packet was more than two tons of cleaned seed. A second crop was harvested later. It yielded slightly less. This grass is an exotic and was grown under irrigation. It remains green practically the entire year and produces a heavy hay and seed crop early. A seed crop was harvested at Tucson by June 15 in 1937. Experiments on the range indicate that the grass is very drought resistant and able to reseed itself at least to some extent. To be sure no such results on yield con be anticipated from open range grass but if it can withstand our dry seasons and provide a grass cover as well os desirable forage, it should prove to be a worth- while contribution. Since this grass provides forage of fair value and can be readily cut for hay, there may be those who will desire to raise the grass either as hay or as a seed crop. At present there is no call for the seed owing to the fact that ranchers and farmers do not know anything about the grass. When it is learned, however, that about three tons of hay can be produced per acre per year ad that this has none of the objectionable features of Johnson grass or that approximately 1,000 pounds of seed can be harvested per acre per year, many ranchers may desire to grow a small acreage of ite This grass was tried in 1947 in several localities to deter- mine its ability to survive and to reproduce itself on the range. Observations on these plantings will largely determine future policy in growing this grass for seed on the nurseries. It hes been sug- gested since this is likely to freeze out in our colder regions, that it be tried as an annual. With this in mind seed will be planted in other regions than the Gila. Seed planted in 1936 on the Albuquerque Nursery produced a good stand. While this stand was quite severely injured during the winter of 1936-37, there was still a marked survival. *Eragrostis lehmanniana, Geniculate Love Grass. Seed of this wee eee Satine aeenemnenionereenatne exotic from South africa was sent to the nursery at Tucson labeled Be parosa At whe beeirning of the second season it was discovered to be a well ae perennial and as H. perosa is an annual the name was revised. This is not as heavy a hay yielder as E. curvula eee ere nor does it »roduce so much sced. In the spring when E. curvula is a rank luscious growth of green, this grass is merely beginning to show a little new growth. While all of this may seem to recommend SIE GRAMINEAR E. curvule it does not prove its superiority on the range. The oxcollent root system and the tendency of &. lehmanniana to re- main dorment during the very dry spring months, may make it more sturdy and drought resistent in our dry climate. It grows rapidly in the summer and produces a seed crop early enough to assure 4 second crop after the first is cut and harvested. This grass is being tried on the rango on sitcs similar to those used for EB. curvuls.e re ew ee *bragrostis ie ae ee Seed of a third exotic perennial Eragrostis from South Africn was received at the same time the seed of E, lehmanniana was received. In growth habit it is between the two just discussed. It is on handsove grass which enn be depended upon to produce two crovs of seed a season. It is being tricd +h along with the others on the cpycn rango and further reports on it can be expected. the above determination may be revised laters bragrostis brizantha. This exotic. from South Africa is coarse and spreading but it not ey ee It is probably much inferior to i. lenmanniana for our purposes. me ee ee Brasrostis obtusiflora, Stoloniferous Love Grass. In our region this is a relatively rare grass. At any rate it is but slightly known to @ur personnel. Where it grows near Willcox, Arizona, however, 41t is abundant and forms pure stands. It is re- sorted from soutiwestern New Mexico also. It is harsh to the touch, has very stiff, sharp-nointed leaves, and forms long rhizomes and stolons. The filets om which it grows are stronealy alkaline and very. wet for short seasons but the ground soon becomes dry and very hard and baked. For sites of this kind this grass is probably superior to Distichlis, dInwspite of its harshness this grass is quite heavily ionla: S azed an Games Becordane To renor vs. Wwe have only a smell. experimental plot of this at present and mo seed hes been collected. lts cheracteristics are so out- Scanaing, Rowever, chat 1t Seeied well to -Giseuss 1b prieriy, KP Pestucs arizonica, Arizona Pescue. At present our program of erosion control taxes us into higher altitudes very little, first, becatise the erosion probiem thore is not usually so eae and second, because e Uste liv within gis bouncaries of the National forests and they assume the duties of s conserva- tion there, Perhaps, however, « few of the grasses which are note= worthy erosion control agents at higher altitudes should be men- ine ona work iy ates he fe) ps WI at tioned. One of the most important of these in the pine timber and in the upland carks, is the arizona “escue, It is a grass which “eos GRAMINGA! has long narrow leaves and forms dense clumps anchored to the ground by a mass of fibrous sa Two other grasses of similar habit but mot at all related are ul Speen tricholepis and Muhlenbergia ee a ee ee ee in ee momen eee eT montana, These three of ten form the greater part the upland meadows and small parks in the vine timber. In ae north of the Grand Canyon Ilestuca idahoensis replaces F,. arizonica. It is very similar and the two are hard to Cistinguishe Festuce elatior, Meadow Tescue. Seed of this can be obtained on the market. It is a comton meadow grass suitable for more moist sites at practically all altitudes. It is not extremely drought resistant. It was introduced many years ago from Burasia and has escaped in many quarters abovt the country. It is worthy of careful observational work in the fi Festuca arundinacen. This Hescue is very similar to Ff, elatior and is probably no better or worse for erosion control work. It does well under irrigation at Tucson. ee a eee: AP ere Eee Seg This is «quite comnoniy called Curly Mesquite. It rangc nrough western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern: Arizona and eee a 1 Vexico, where it eee covers exten+ sive areas in pure stands. is very aggressive, withstanding Grought and quite severe grazing. It seems to be spreading into new territory. The sites on which it seems to thrive bose are rocky slopes and mesas where the soil is heavy The culms are short but rather lone stolons are produced whi root at the nodes mc produce mew bunches of grass, ‘ihile the PEC on which it grows Oro Bou those which are usually subject to severe crosion, the roots and stolons act as oxcellent soil binders. Tt is: heh ly palatable csu¢cially to ceattie and horsos. Qe Pe 15 Our use of this valuable grass will be very limited unless we are able to produce seed in the nurseries. In its native haunts it fruits very sparsely and the ground is commonly so rocky that seed cannot be collected with power or horse-dravm strippers. Six- teen pounds of cleaned seed was ae ees in 1936 and this was used in the nurserv in increase plots, two acres being planted at Pima. se Grasses which can be *Hilaria jamesii, Galleta Gras r severe overgrazing are few. expected to 2@ 8 couerback afte Anong these few Galleta is outstanding. On stretches of land in southern Utah, northern Arizona and northern New Mexico where sheep and cattle heve beer run during extremely drv years and where the grass cover nas all but disappeared, this grass recovers rapidly where it is given the slightest chance. “hen you add to this its high pelavability end its oxcellent erosion comtrol value due to t Men) ATO ARTT NTA GI AMINUAR oy, its strong rhizomatous character, «ou have a well nigh perfect grass for sites on which it will crow. On the Navajo Reservation east of the Chuska lountains this is probably the dominant grass and one th:t is coming in abundantly on the fenced areas along the highway between Gallup and Shiprock, New Mexico. Mexican Springs reports it to be much more pelatable for sheep and goats than Agropyron smithii, anothor very important grass in this regione in the Hilford region of southern by sheep, this frass shows a more other of that region, If given a relieve the severe erosion during It should be remerked, also, that very wide range of conditions and ws c ie) Utah on aroas heavily overgrazed rapic recoverv than probably any ehance it could bo expected to flood time in southern Utah. this grass is to be found ima soil types. It thrives best on ome overflow. rathor heavy soil that gets Often Collecting secd of this species offers 2 probleme beautifully headed srass is very short In carycopses, the grass is commoniv sp2arse on the ground, and the stands are senttering, The Browth of this spocics adigcent to irrigntion ditches at Shiprock SUPeOStSs, Che Gesirabilaty of planting and irrigating 2t for seed production. Five acres have beon planted at Shiprock for seed production. *Hilari mutica, Yobosn. In the southern part of our range wo ee oo tobosa occupies sites comparable to those occupicd by H. jamesii in northern Mew Mexico and Arizona, It is somewhat more confined, how- evor, to the henvy soils along swales which receive overflow during the rainy season, It is noorly appreciated by stockmen and perhaps by Soil Conservation Service men because of its extreme abundance ond its habit of forming masses of old dry leaves and dense clumps which make the ground rough. A careful study in the management of ranges om which it occurs might ereatly increase the appreciation of this species. Its erosion control value cannot be questioned but it is highly vrobeble that proper grazing end treatment of these lands would incrense both the erosion control value and for= age value. yroprietor of the Riges Ranch out of Willcox, Arizona, reports this specics to be one of the most valuable on his S 5 a aes 4 nea LAT @ Habs S 3 yes ronges, It seems likely thot systcm-tic discing of the land would prevent the form-tion of dense clumps.and help the grass to spread to the low places caused by stock paths and water courses. hes short rhizomes but does not spread as widely This grass by them as does ER. jamcsii. The collection of seed is not difficult 9otn enough to permit the use of power or Vinile the srowing of this specice in the le, it seems likely that much greater much higher grade could be obtained in fields that are horse-drawn strippers. nursery is hurdly desi SMoOuMt Ss seed and seed . rep Pe) OL of prety” et one) : RAMINGAE from fields properly levelled by discing and svstematically flooded during the rainy season. Sometimes entire fields of this species are badly infested with ergot and these must be carefully avoided. *Hilaria rigida, Big Galleta, ‘ve do not commonly expect to find grasses in this country which can be classed as bushes. Big Galleta, however, has woody verennial stems and branches at the base much like many of our shrubse It is very common and in many places abundant in our warmest regions of the southwest where the rainfall frequently falls below three inches per annum. In many places it grows flowers and fruits almost continuously throughout the year, its periods of activity depending on the raine- fall rather than on the season, Almost pure stands of it occur in the Kingman, Arizona region, on the plains east of Yuma, and on many of the lowlands in the extreme southwestern part of Arizona. It seems to have little cheice in soil requirements, growing equally well in regions of drifting send and rather heavy adobe soil. It is not uncomnon woll up in the nrountains on vory rocky slopes. Owing to the very bunchy nature of this grass it can herdly be classed os an excellent erosion control agent. Its wide dis- tribution, however, permits the wider distribution of stock, thus preventing heavy trampling in lecalized areas. While.the palatability of this specics is low’when: the. entire plant is considered, it oroduces'a relatively large amount of pala- table leaves which form a large part of the forage in certain regions. Several attempts have been made to transvlant-the heavy rh zomes of this plent in the nursery without success, and young aoe lings seem to have « low tolerance for alkali, The uso of this very veluable specics will donond almost cntirely on the development of nursery or sced collecting technique. The plant must be induced by some systom of cuttins beck or harvestins to vreduce seed at definite intervalse This mas be eecomolished In whe field or with cultivated plants in the “nursert. ra pot a lyoarrhenia hirta. This exotic is a bunch grass which forms dense clumps about ee or more high, It secoms well suited for a low windbreak and as a sand binder, though it is not creeping or rhizomatous. It is ae hardy in the cooler parts of our regione Hitchcock reports it as probably heving little forage value, Foeleria cristata, June Grasse This is widely distributed in the west and southvest. ‘hile it docs not commonly or nossibly, ever, form pure stands 7 tUIStill comstitutes on appreciable pars GRAMINEAE of the grass over large areise This species is so extremely var iable as to be frequently unrecognized. It mey be that the species will eventually be divided into two or more distinct species or at ony rate, varieties. There seems to be considerable variation in the moisture conditions of the different forms of the June Grass. Its notural home seems to bo the open meadows, plateaus and plains in and adjoining the Rocky Mountains. Rea ce form was found quite abundant on the hills khetween Safford and Clifton, The site seoms much drier then thet normal to this grass and it may prove to be a strain better adapted to our erid conditions, Lycurus phleoides, Texas Timothy. This seldom grows in pure stands in our renge. ‘it, however, is rather abundant in eastern New Mexico and in limit bed areas in southern Arizona.se while it is not one of our outstending grasses, its rather high valatability ond fair root system, combined with good seed vroduction, commend ite We heave planted an acre of it at Albuquerque and if seed can be produced in this wav the lowered cost of harvesting mey werrent Libs more Extensive use. Muhlenbergia. The genus ‘‘uhlenbergia (or the Muhlys), con- stitutes an enormous group of gresses in the southwest. They are so numerous thet they will only be discussed very briefly here: Muhlenbergia asperifolia, Scratch Grass. In the nursery at Aare nn Tae eee Tucson this shows some of the characteristics so desirable in an erosion control grass. It has abundent rhizomes and forms a rather dense sod. lt grows in cuite dense alkali. Its usefulness is s i limited by its moisture requirements, as it frows only in moist or wet soil. It has a wide natural distribution occuring throughout the west. Muhlenbergia dumose, Cane iuhly. This is one of the grass curiositics of the coutmest. The slender canes are perennial and branch quite freely. They are leafy from bottom to top with slen-= der soft leaves which give the entire plant a plumose appearances This grass is a handsome ornamental and it is sometimes used as such by those who are acquainted with it. The places in which it grows are nearly as unusual as the grass itself. This must be so for the grass\is so little known. in places in the Baboquivari Mountains of Arizona, however, it forms pure stands in secluded spots where thore is little or no grazinge It is to be found also in the Santa Rita end santa Catalina Mountains and along Sycamore Canyon in Santa Cruz County, trizona, Its distribution is probably much wider even in ‘Arizona. ‘Where it grows in pure stands the stout rhizones almost completely fill the top soil and the bunches of grass cling tenaciously to the ground. What appears to be a wonder grass seems to have some limiting factors,=- it does not seem to be able to withstand grazing; the hard solid perennial stems and the tender leaves all seem to go3; the grass does not seem to produce a good crop of seed often; and finally, it is con-= fined to relatively warm sites. Observations in the field and in the nursery may enable us to use it to a limited extent. Muhlenbergia emersleyi, Bull Grass, is very common in the mountains of southern Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texase It is a large coarse bunch-grags, often three or four feet high with a plumose head of flowers. It is quite palatable, especially for horses. It has a dense mass of roots and serves as a fair ero- sion control grasse It grows well in the nursery but seems to pro- duce no viable seed or practically none. This grass is not likely to gain any general use in our program because of its low seed productivity in the nursery. It can be recommended for ornamental purposes. *Muhlenbergia porteri. This grass played an important part in the early history of the southwest. While its range is probably as great as it ever was, its abundance has decreased under heavy grazing until in many places it has all but disappeared where it was formerly the chicf forage. From its habit of occupying clumps of brush, mesquite and catclaws, it is often called Mesquite Grass. Sons however, it was called Hoe Grass from the fact that those gathering it hoed it out of the bushes. In fact this was the only way it was collected, hundreds of tons being gathered each year and sold at the forts in early days for horse feed. This grass has very long culms, often four or five feet in length on ungrazed plants but the culms which are slender and wiry recurve, fall to the ground and root at the nodes. Thus a single plant often produces a round-topped clump several feet across and three or more feet high. Unlike most of our native grasses, the culms are perennial and large clumps are often the accumulated growth of several years. In spite of the hard, wiry nature of the old culms stocz, if given a chance, cat the plants down to the ground. It becomes evident that this species can be grown only where grazing is rigidly controlled. It hes been found that the seed of this grass germinates readily and the young plants thrive on open ground where no protecte ion from brush is available. A small wisp of hay or brush, however, will often protect the small plant and enable it to become estab-= lished. Mr. Collins, Assistant Agronomist on the Gila Project, reports that their ost results in seeding denuded areas to grass have beon obtained with this specics. He also reports that it has Slam 48 te Gate it pop aetek se N alist wooo sete) ee i Shu Vie We tet ry SANS: CONSERVATION ~ REVEGETATION— MORE AND BETTER STOCK GRAMINEAE not been necessary to apynly a hay mulch to obtain these results. Ir. Hamilton, Regional Agronomist, suggests an experiment in seed- ing ranme land with the grass by permitting the seeds whieh are very light, to be blown about during o heavy wind storm. He be-~ lieves the seed will lodge at the base of bushes and germinate here. If such a method proves feasible and sufficient seed can be produced, thero may be a chance to rejuvenate some of our old Hoe Grass rangese As it is much easier toc obtain seed from nursery grown plants than from those growing in brush or on the range, a patch of about two acres ne been established:on the Et Ys at Tucson and three acres at tho Safford Hursery, ‘hile meny of the plants are small it seems eae that wo shall soon hve excellent stands and we Shedd, be able to obtain seed from them. As the plant seeds for soveral months, the ripening is similarly drawn out, making the col- lection of socd slow and difficult. The seod, too, are so small that threshing is all but impossible. These Recs anen eas s have led to the practice of raking out the tops with the eae inflores= cences and running them throuch a rubbing machine which breaks up the heads and tops, Instead of attempting to pe the pure earyopses the entire mass of macerated meteriol is used in seeding. The fine broken up hay is spread out on the areas wee seeding is desired, the hay forming o protective mulch. Promising rosults have been obteined in this wave Special emphasis should be placed on the erosion control value of this grasse A. if, Sayer in writing about the erosion pro- blem in the Thornveld in South Africa, emphasizes the apparent fact that trees in arid regions often promote, instead of retard, erosion. This seems to be the case in some sections of the southwest where mesquite growth hes become so abundant that grasses are precluded. wmeke doubtless ib will be difficult to ee this grass in Sages stands of mesquite, it secrs to have distinct ability to grow 1 these bushes where the stands sre not too dense and, according ee observation of ranchmen anc others, frequently to cause their death, The crosion control value of the grass is doubtless greater than thet of the tree or shrub. It snould be mentioned that a part of the difficulty experi- eneed in raising this grass comes from the porsistont habit of jack rabbits in eating up the plants. before they become established. Thus fear we have resorted to voiscaing rather than cnclosing the orcas in rabbit-proof fenec. *Vuhlenbergis pungons, Blowout Huhly. It is probable that much of the > Have jo Tneien ae servation now covered more or less GRAMINEAR eee ee ee ee ee covered by other nian hte. | At “present, however, much of the wind- blown sandy area is so completely taken by these two species that a definite statement regarding the original vegetation seems con- jectural. This species likes the drifting sands where the move~ ment is not too severe and since it forms dense clumns, spreads by creeving rhizomes and is quite unpalatable even to sheep and goatse It is an ideal sand binder. Our knowledge of.its propagation is nil at present and reports must await the results of observational planting which the Nursery Section or the Navajo agronomists can make in the future. ‘shile it seeds abundantly, the only way seed can be conveniently collected is with hand strippers because of the extreme roughness of sites on which it grows. Incidentally, it should be mentioned that this is one of our ost handsome grasses well worthy of trial as an ornamental. This species reaches its meximum development in northern Arizona and northern New Mexico but extends as far north as Wyoming and South Dakota in the Rocky Mountains e completely by Ephedre viridis and Iuhlenbergia pungens, was once *Nuhlenbergia repens, Creeping Juhly. Among the plants which heve takon advanite po of the severe overgrazing of the range in some of the southwestern mountains, is i, TOpens. It is very low in Sema and as it spreads rapidly by creoping rhizomes and forms donse carpets, it is an ideal crosion control plant. Like all other one in is limited in its usefulness by the site requireicnvuss 1b, noweover, Gores hunareds of acros of the gentle slepes in such mountains «as the Canitans of New Iiexico and the Dos Cabezos of Arizona. It has a oe ce habit of closing in on small water courses stertcd by cow trails and old wagon or auto Trucs. On ate slopes and in the bottoms of swales it is an al- most perfect desilter. = little of it planted on the nursery at Tucson has grown vizorously and spread rapidly by rhizomes but not by secd. On the ranze it is not easv to locete good seed. #4 good collcetion, however, was made in 1837, Since it is very low it is best collected by means of lawn movers with the usual hopper attach- ment. Its natural distribution is wostern Texas, New liexico and Arigonae It doubtless is widespread in northern Chihuahua also but thus far it has been revor aa from but one locality. fa 7 po cr *Vuhlenbergia ricense Deer Grass, as this one is often cal- led, is confined fo rather moist places usually in the beds of rocky washes and to steep usually north-facing slopes in the extreme southwest. It has rather coarse, stiffly erect stems from a tough hard rhizomatous bese which is calculated to hold its ground even in severe floods. in fact the clunps anchor themselves so tightly to. the rocks that water merely bencs the culms dovmstream after og GRAMINEAL which they promptly become crect or send up new culms. In spite of the coarseness of the stems stock eat the grass down very close but the hard knotty base soon sends up new culms.s. In fact this is a grass that is very hard to defeat in its proper site. Its chief limitation is that it requires considerable moisture. In the nur- sery it produces at least two excellent crops of hay and seed. *Muhlenbergia longiligula, Slender Bull Grass, is a tall bunch grass closely resembling NM. emersleyi. It does not have awns the spikelets and the lower sheaths are not compressed-keeled. m Ge sre a a : : ne oe tars Tc he A . this is a good forage grass from westcrn Texas to southern «irizona and Mexico. ituhlenbergia subpatens, Beardless Bull Grass, dHitcheock's Manual makes this species @ synonym of if, emersleyi, Field obser- vations, however, indicate that it a well defined specics which fre- quently hybridizes with Li. emersleyi, A form in the os Cabezos Mountains of southern Arizona is Tess than two fect high and may ee to be distinct even from Ii, subpatens, This has long, hard scaly rhizomes and almost spicate paniclcos. Judging from the way it is browsed it is a highly palatable grass. *Muhlenbergia glauca, Glaucus liuhly, occurs in the mountains in the southern part of “cgion Hight and in Old Mexico. It is con- fined to quite stecp, rather dry, loose rocky slopes. It is a very leafy, rather loosely bunched grass with numerous rhizomes and looks like a very promising gress for pronagation and erosion control work. iuhlenbergia polycaulis ranges from western Texas to south- ern ie end central Hoxico, It is a norennial from a rather loose crowns he culms are numerous and leafy. The ontire grass is usually not more than a foot and a half hig This grass has probably beon driven back into tho fastnesses ce the stecp rocky hills because of its high pela ere ee *uhlenbergia monticols, Mesa iuhly, is a perennial from a rather loosely tufted base, the culms boing numerous and ouite leafy. The panicles resemble those of M. polycaulis. It ranges from westorn Texas to trizone and central Texico and is auite simi- lar in the one in which it grows to that species, being confined by stern ne sirv, hiding itself away in rough, rocky places where stock ca nae reach "Lt. *huhions eres montena, Vountain iuhly. In the southern part of Arizona and New Mexico this species is searce, if not rare. In the Flagstaff section, however, and along the Mogollon mesa it is GRAMINEAT one of the dominant grnsses. It is almost constantly and abundantly sociated with Festuca arizonica and Blepharoneuron tricholcpis. Tt is a bunch grass with hard base and abundant rootse ‘The leaves are mostly besale To obtain pure seed hand strippers must be used but power machinery may be used to obtain mixtures of the above- mentioned species. It is probably better to plant secd in the fall, broadcasting perhaps five or six pounds to the acre, For our use the value of this species is negligible as it grows at pea at which we do not have projocts. This year, pe we will hav some seed collected and expect to give it a trial at eee and Shiprock next season. *Muhleonbergia virescens, Screwleaf Muhly, closely resembles iM. montana and may be considered its southern couterpart. It is confined to the higher mountains of central and southern New Mexico end Arizona to central Mexico. This is a very important grass on the higher slopes of the Huachucase luhlenbergia racemosa, the Marsh Muhly, mey be considered a truly eastern Bross. It extends from Newfoundland to British Columbia ani south to Arizona. In fact it grows in practically all states of tne Union except those of the true south and California. It is a retner loosely tufted grass with numerous broad leaves and slender culms, a mass of rhizomatous roots, and contrary to the common namc, grows in many places that are not swampy such as sandy bottoms of canyons. It is, however, not very drought resistant. *iMuhlenbergia rigida, the Purple Muhly, is confined to rocky, eeauelly Bano pence aia slopes from Texas to Arizona and northern liexico, It is a beautiful bunch grass, 14 to 2 feet tall with dark purple, widely spreading panicles. Very little is know regarding its palatability. what has been termed Il, rigida grows in pure stands in the San @afael valley in southern m Arizona where it constitutes practically a pure stand and is an excellent erosion control grasse Huhlenbergia REESE and eh dee ticola are called Ring grasses. iM, torreyi is commonly much shorter, 4 to 8 tei tall,- while Me arenicola occasionally reaches a height of 14 ESeus Both are eee amon in the plains end mesas of western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The dense bunches of purple panicles make these grasses very showy. An abundance of these grasses is a definite indication of an overgrazed condition on the range. They are unpaletable but fairly good erosion control plants, Muhlenbergia arizonica, the Arizona Muhly, is relatively Ra SE Ly tt | nes in A : y au ~_ ep as i: a GRALTINMAE rare, being confined in our range to southern Arizona and northern . Mexicoe It is a very loosely rooted perennial grass found on dry mesas and botton lands in shallow, poor soil. The grass has a loose appearance on the ground. The panicles are widespreading and the culms quite short. It is relatively. poor forage and owing to the loose root system, a comparatively poor soil binder. Further study of this species may lead to a higher appraisal of its value for erosion control. Muhlenbergia arenacea in superficial appearance, is some= thing like ‘gare, however, has a loose staloniferous rhizomatous habit, the rhizomes being very close to the surface of the grounde In many places it forms pure stands over small areas along swales in the lower mesas of western Texas to Arizona and Sonorae It is not very palatable but owing to its rhizomatous character, is worth attention as an erosion control plant. *Oryzopsis hymenoides, Indian Nice Grass, can hardly be classed with grasses Of high erosion contro] value. The dense bunches are always too much separated and scattering to do more than check the flow of water slightly or retard the wind and sand, Its chief value is for forage. Formerly it was much more abundant than at present and covered thousands of sections fron ue and Montana through the Rocky Mountains into Mexico. In fact Hitchcock! distribution map indicates that it occurs in all the western states except Oklahoma. It is found on almost all types of dry mesa soils from quite heavy to very sandy. It is a familiar sight along road grades where grazing has not been heavy. ie have experienced con- siderable difficulty in getting a reasonable germination, Cutting tests indicate that a high per cent of seed collected has not fil-~ led out and germination tests at Tucson seem to show that seed must be dormant for a season. At Shiprock, however, no difficulty was experienced, the seed germinating as readily as most grass seeds. As this grass is usually so.scattering that it is expensive to collect and as it is one for which we have a large demand, we have established a 1lO-acre plot at Albuquerque and a similar one at Shiprock for seed increase. *Oryzopsis miliacea, Under irrigation at Tucson this exotic Rice Grass is very year cues forming large dense clumps two fect high or more. Under cultivation it will produce two crops of hay or seed in a season. Though it has not yet been tried on the range it is probably not very drought resistant and since it will not withstand the winters at Shiprock, its range of usefulness is probably limited, I should be tried, however, as an annual in cooler climates. ~d0— | ory AY eli ss | Vivi ‘ i GRAMINEAD Oryz Zopsis coerulescens is another exotic Rice Grass which is less promising than 0. miliacea. Until careful observational work in the field has been carried on, however, their relative merits cannot be determined, mbriatum, the Pinon Rice Grass, is a remarke Piptochaetium fi able grass, closely resenling che iegmmon| tee grass, Oryzopsis hymenoides, but it has a very dense mass of slender, basal LeDVES. It has the peculiar habit of seeking extremely dry, sandy sites at the base of cliffs and in canyons. Occasionally, however, it forms almost pure stands under vinons anc junipers. It ranges from Colo- rado to western Texas, Arizona and Mexico, is a fine forage grass and fairly good soil erosion control grass but is extremely dif- ficult to handle in the nurscry. *Panicum antidotale, Giant Panic. Judging from observations on the nursery at “Gucson, this is one of our most valuable grass introductions for warmer regionse Under irrigation it is very vigorous, forming heavy rhizom:.tous roots and s five to six feet high. It is ideal as a low windbreak and as sand binder. In winter the culms dic but tomain standing, thus ee ey: to offer protection against Creal tac On the nursery it requires very lit~ tle irrigation. ‘hile it freezes at Shiprock, its very vigorous first year's growth suggcosts its desirability as an annual. It is roported to be fair POrAgee we have not verified this at Tucson, At Manden, North Dakota his grass grows vigorously and secds the first your, convincing east that it can be used as an annual in cooler climatese ie i¢ find very littlo mention of this specics among our Soil Co vation groups. It is, however, widely distributed in the southwest but with us is confined to canyons and valleys in the mountains whero the grazing is not too severe... It is found also in Texas, Oklahoma and Hexico. The culms are often three feet or more tell and small areas ore often completoly covered by it. The roots arc gnarled and the bases of the culms are bulbous, There sre at least two distinct strains in our collections from Arizona, Both make luxuriant growth in the nursery but one is considerably larger than the other. ‘When irri-g gated the bulbs o11 but disappear and un to the present sced pro- duction has been very disappointing. ince this is a good forage grass and a fair soil binder, further observetional work on it is warranted. Fanicum bulboswa, Sul wee ee te ee anicum hallii, Hall's Panic. The features of this little oo ater tee em ane me grasg@ which recommend it are that it grows in very dry sites and ale GIATINEAL withstands rather heavy grazing. It is not rhizomatous and it does not grow in pure stands, so its effect on holding the soil is not very great. It maxr have a place in grass mixtures for revegetation purposes. Its ranse is Texas, New i‘exico, Arizona and Mexicoe Panicum obtusum, Vine i’esquitee The Forest Service has con- ducted some experiments and made some observations in the field on this species. [Reference is made to their Leaflet No. 114, This grass can be used through a wide range both of conditions and alti- tudese It is best adapted to swales and gullies in rather heavy soil where erosion is likely to be heavy when a grass cover is not presente ts Long st olons spread rapidly and form a good protective cover, While this is rated as low in palatability, the upright culms with the fruiting hends are quite greedily eaten and the hay is highly prized in certain localities as feed for dairy cows, It is highly probable that we will be able to obtain seed of this in the near future as a crop raised by the farmers. The grass can be cut at seed ripening time, threshed and the straw cithcr stacked or baled for stock food. he natural range of this panic is Arizona, Mexico and eastward to Texas and Iown. Panicum texanum, Texas Millet. Seed was received from Texas of this promising panic, The clumps we have at Tucson do not scem to root at the decumbent nodes, a characteristic of some strains of this grass. ‘while it is fond of damp ground it withstands some drought. It often romcu oO weed in waste ficlds, iihile this grass has been ee in our range it is rere in tha extreme southwest. It extends ee through the southern states to South arolina and Georgia Panicum reverchoni, Reverchon Ponic.s. This is another Texas grasse While it does not make the growth of PF. texanum, it is much more drought resistent, growing on dry rocky and sendy land. It forms dense clumps Pron rhizomatous bases and should prove to be a good erosion control plent. Plants at Tucson are growing nicely though s poor stand was obtained from seed planted, It is confined in natural distribution to dry rocky, sandy hills of Toxas,. Ponicum virgatum, Switch Grass. In many places in the East this is doubtless a more important grass than in Region 8 With us it is found occasionally. It is often in snall clumps but somo- times is found in abaost pure stands of an acre or sos - mall cases its extensive rhizomatous root system suggests its possibili- tics as an erosion control plant. “hile it prefers meadow lands ond even wet ground, it is frequently found on dry sandy slopes. aD: ont oie a ih ty 7 | RG Bae an A: GRAMINEAL We have planted six acres in the nursery at Albuquerque for seed increase It is probably a strain of this which we obtained near White City, New Mexico, which is very promising in the nursery. Pappophorum wrightii, Spike Pappus. This is a rather un- usual grass in our region and is hardly significant for erosion con- trol or for foragee Its natural range is Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and south of Bolivia in South America. We are trying it in the nur- sery, however, as its growth habit, slightly decumbent culms and perennial root system recommend it. We obtained seed from Texas of P. bicolor, a grass confined to the southwest and Mexico, and have @ planting in the nursery at Tucson. Plants are two feet high, very leafy and promising as forage vlants. Paspalum dilatatum, Dallis Grass. This is a native grass of South America but has beon extensively introduced into southern United States. It accommodates itself to quite dry bottom lands as well as to marshy, brackish places. Its use with us is certain to be very limited. Paspalum distichum, Knot-grass, is only suitable for low moist places or ground under irrigation, and for this reason its use must be very limited in the SSeanre ee It often forms low clumps with numerous stolons. At the nursery at Tucson it looks promising and for any situations where water is rather abundant it may prove to be a valuable soil binder. It is excellent forage. It is widely distributed through the east, south and west. Pennisetum chilensis. This exotic grass does not resemble Elephant Grass mentioned later, being very much smaller and more slender. It is seldom over a feet high. Its response in the nursery is good but it has not been tried in the field. We ob-= tained a good seed increase in 1937. Pennisetum orientalis. This exotic Pennisetum is similar to Ps chilensis. It is a rather slonder grass without rhizomes. Further observations in the nursery are necessary on this as well as P. chilensis before they can be tried in the field. ee eee Pennisetum purpureum, Elephant Grass, is even coarser than corn but is a yperemied with a heavy root system. With us it is probably no more than an interesting exotic. It is not suitable for dry sites or cold climates. It is, however, grown for forage in Florida and should bo tried in wet sites in our southwestern ranges. -434- GRAMINEAE Phalaris tuberosa, Canary Grass. This is very vigorous in the Salt River Valley and at Tucson. It is a tall coarse exotic grass with a loose rhizomatous base and is suitable for hay and pasture. It is not drought resistant but is a wonderful soil bin- der in moist situations. It is not hardy at Shiprock and owing to the rhizomatous character of the roots which require a couple of seasons to become established, cannot be used as an annual. Phragmites communis. The Mexicans call this Carrizo or Cane Grass. 1t grows commonly in damp places,- in fact it is a quite definite indicator of underground moisture. Occasionally it is found in stretches of desert along arroyos as in places in the Petrified Forest or even along ridges as in the Navajo country south of Shiprock, but even in such localities there is always a slight seepage. As a soil binder this grass is par excellent, its usefulness being limited only by available moisture. It is not commonly thought of as a forage plant but indications in the Navajo country are that it is quite highly palatable for sheep. The culms are variously used by Mexicans and Indians as material for lattice work in adobe huts, in mats, screens, thatching, cordage, etc. The culms are reported to contain some sugar. While this plant produces large clusters of flowering heads, it produces very little seed in our region. For this reason its propagation must be by roots. It has not been grown in the nursery for distribution up to the present. What appears to be a strain of this plant grows along Fish Creek above the Apache Trail Highway in Arizona. Here it has not produced flowers or seeds since it was first observed by the Soil Conservation Service personnel, nor has it produced them in culti- vation in the nursery. . This strain produces abundant large rhizomes and the culms root readily at the nodes where the tops happon to fall to the ground. It scems to be well adapted to moist stretches along draws or streams where erosion is likely otherwise to be heavy» This is being planted experimentally along ditch banks on the nursery at Tucson. Plants closely resembling this strain were collected near Hatch, New Mexico, and planted in the bottoms along the Gila. These are very promising as soil binders. Phragmites communis is a grass of world-wide distribution. Poa pratensis, Kentucky Blue Grass, has assumed a position in our crosion control program which would have been considered -3)- GRAMINEAL preposterous at the beginning of our work. It may be stated at the ere ge that it is doubted by many that our Rocky Mountain strain of Poo pratensis is the true Kentucky Blue Grass. ve that as it eee ee ‘are calling by this name is spreading very rapidly even under heavy rrazing in our comparatively high altitudes of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, The true Kentucky Blue Grass is an introduction from Europe. Its long rhizomes and numer- our fibrous roots make it an excellent soil binder,- in fact one of the best. It is highly probable next season's program will call for the collection of a quantity of seed of our southwestern grass to be grown for comparison with grass grown from commercial seed. Another Poa worthy of mention is the eee Blue Grass, Poe compressa, also an introduction from se While it is inferior to the Kentuc! cy Blue as a grass, it grows in sites where the latter will not grow, in very poor and even alkaline soil. It is of simi- lar habit to the Kentucky Blue. A Poa found on the north slopes of the Suverstition Moun- tains, probably P, fendleriana, has rhizomes similar to the Ken- tucky Blue though oe oe it forms very large, dense clumps with much leafagee. Jt is very drought rosistant "and may prove worthwhile at some of our lower altitudes where Kentucky Blue will not grow. ‘Wwe heave very little seed with which to start our observational work. Redficldia flexuosa, Blow-out grass, as this is called, is comparable to the “giant Ga noueiras It is much smaller but has very extensive rhizomes and is a good sand binder, It is a much smalier grass and from this standpoint is not so effective an agent in retarding the wind, It has about the same distribution, not extending quite so far morth. Our seed increase plot of two acres is being cstablished at Albuauerque. Uchismus barbatus. ‘ve find very little mention of this grass in grass literature of this country. It wos introduced from the old world where it is widely distributed from southern Europe through Indie and South Africa. In the United States 16 is req ported only trom southern Arizona, From Tueson to Phoenix it is very abundant in many placcs Pollowing mostly the draws in the driest portions of the dosert. It is seldom more than eight in- ehes tall. In Paradise Valley north of Phoenix it forms dense pure stends covering lerge areas in the more or less sandy creosote land. Where there-are any winter rains this grass forms a good ground cover and acceptable forage, By June it has commonly seeded and GRAMTINEAT dried, in which condition it is unpalatable. Compared with our Sixeviecks granas this is superior both as forage and as a ground cover, It remains green much longer but furnishes forago in the wintor instead of late summer. Mir. Gambee of Phoenix, Arizona has devised a small machine which he pushes by hand like a lawn mower on which he has mounted a small gasoline engine to run the strippinz devise. Je has used this machine quite successfully in collecting Schismus seed. Secleropogon brevifolius, Burro Grass, is relished by ani- mals other than burros. 1t is one of the thinzs thet is so very common that it is voorly appreciated. It occupies peuee areas often of very dry flat land but not infrequently it extends up the more gentle slopes. It's a heavenly gift to fools who insist on grazing the last spear of srass from the rangee ihile it is flower- wie and fruiting the long awns are forbidcing to stock but after the sced are ature and fall the erass forms a good winter pas-~ turase and the long rhizomes are very effective in binding the soil. Its normal ranve is western Texas, southern New lMexico, southern Arizona and Mexico. It occurs also in drgentine, South Amcricae c Setaris. macrostachya, The Uristle grasses are among our most drought resist eatgenee in the extreme southwest, growing in many places where the rainfall is less than five inches. Thoy are also among our keenest disappointments, The seed is very poor, most of it empty. ‘hile the germination is fair the trans- planting which is very necessary is all but impossiblee We may be able eventually to sow the seed directly in the field which may give us desirod res ults. The hoavy roots with numerous rootlets suggest that plants could be transferred from the field to the nure sery and thus valuable strains secured, Almost invariably such trensplanting results in killing the plants. South of Carlsbad we secured a strain of this which has large rhizomes, in ease our transplants 1 prove failures we may succeed in getting seed lator in the season, tihon we learn how to handle these plants we will add a very desirable grass to our revegetation programe The Setarias grown from seed at Tucson in 1937 gave remark- able resulise ‘hot we have called S. macrostachya from different localities proves to be vracticaliy as many well defined strains as we heave localities revresented, ‘ie may have more than one speciese %. macrostachya, for example, from the Baboquivari Moun- tains is two feet or more tell and has coarse stalks and wide leaves, GRAMINEA while the same species from the Kofa Mountains is much smaller in every way but is still a vigorous bunch grass. A second specics from the Baboguivari Mountains which is possibly only an annual, is vory promising under cultivation. The above discussion must reveal the fact that our Setarias are badly in need of careful taxonomic work. Sporobolus airoides. This is variously called Alkali Grass and Alkali Sacaton. It is much more resistant to alkali than any of the other Sporoboli and occupies hundreds of acres of low bottom lends which receive overflow during flood time but which often be- come very dry during a portion of the ycar.e Commonly, however,. the matorial lowcring of the wator table as occurs from severe crosion where deep channels are cut through the meadows, is sufficient to completely kill the sacaton. For this reason large areas formorly occupicd by this grass have become denuded or have come up to mes- quito. The palatability of alkali sacaton is rather low but it froquontly constitutes a large pert of the available grass during dry years and it is frequently mowed for hay. Tho collection’ of seed is usually a problem because of the roughness of the land, the grass forming large bunches which in turn collect debris. If the ground could be given a little pre-= liminary attcntion, the hwnaocks disked or dragged dowm and a little irrigation applied, tho grass could bo harvested with mowor or binder and afterward threshed. With this in mind wo havo planted eightcen acres at Albuquerque. The threshing of all the Sporoboli is oasy in any threshcr with the proper sereons. In 1936 some of the sced was collected with power strippers but much had to be gathered by means of hand strippers. The crop in the summer of 1937 was exceptional and was collected by mowers, rakos and power stripporse Alkali Sacaton is widely distributed throughout the west. Sporobolus contractus, Svike Dropsced, is easily confused ee ek ce a ) with two other specios. Often the soikes are long and narrow and arc mostly enclosed im the sheaths. In this case it can be mis= taken for S. cryptendrus. If the culms are stout and the spikes wien thick, it can bo confused with S. gigantous. It is very similar SSC eaee en er, enantiomers to S. cryptandrus in site and soil requirements and can be planted ene fe in practically any place where the latter will grow. Further work is nocessary before it can bo definitely detormined which is the -47- better, Se contractus or 5. critandrus It often forms pure stands in email a areas and oroduces an Epunience of seeds ‘Since it is de= sirable, however, to harvest it by machinery, we are planting six acres fior increase. The range of %. contractus is Colorado to western Texas, cave serene Dries oer = southern California and Wexicos *Snocrobolus cryptandrus, Sanc Dronseed, occupies wide areas across aan CT not outs tandingly sandy.e In fact its value lies in part in its adaptability to a wide range of soil conditionse It is much more drousht resistant than either the alkali sacaton or the giant sacaton and is frequently found on wide, dry open flats. The grass is usually quite scattering. For this reason it commonly is inferior as an crosion control agent to either the giant sacaton or the alzali sacaton where these will grow. Though commonly it comes in as a result of overzrazing it is an exceedingly valuable grass because of its ability to withstand heavy grazing and because of its relatively high valatability. It not infrequently produces two crops of seed a scason and ofton the character of the inflorescence of the second crop is so different from the first as to confuse one as to the identity of the grass. Not infrequently the inflorescence of the first crop. is very long and narrow and practically- or completely enclosed in a sheath while the inflores« cences produced later in the season are more or less exposed and OpAN « vy Considerable quantities of seed were collected in 1956 in southern Utah on the l:ilford Experimental Range. This is probably the easiest of all our native grasses to produce in the nursery and as it can be grown in much denser stands than are found normally on the rangss, wo are growing twenty-five acres im increase blocks, It should be remarked that in the nursery this is inclined to become 2 weed because of its habit of readily seeding itself. *S eae flexuosuse This is called the Mesa Dropseed oa vere ate ERRAGCR tee i ome ee ae though it is herdly more entitled to this name than S. cryptandrus, Be oe grows in drifting sand in such placce as the Shinneries of Now Moxico or the plains country east of Hl Paso. It will, however, grow in flats where there is considerable alkali. tt is thus seen ies it is adaptable to a wide range of conditions. It is much more drought resistant than 6. airoides or 5. w ightii, ,6VGN More tran 5. cx ee Zé is not infrequent in the low bushes in tho extroncly arid situation along Vermillion Cliffs, Arizone, and the desert Seouad Toquervilic, Utah. It is widespread - 1 See LA are ee in the southweste red ae Bp ney: Serra e gt — pies 1d This gross is nearly as casily produced in the nursery as De cryptandrys. The ease with which it can be handled, together with its other qualities, recomiend it. lie have eleven acres for in- crease. ‘ie have experienced difficulty in germinating seod, it being in this respect sinilar to De giganteus. Tr. Dovms of the hipneueeate Nursory' has been successful in germinating the latter by treating it with hot water (about 150 desrecs Fahrenheit for ten minutes). Seeds of S. flexuosus will subjectod to ett ee en nt ee ee te be *Sporobolus gigantous of the Svike ‘Drops ee a ing thick stems and wid It is at home in deep apted for use sand and a hea cro becn uscd extoe: food. Tho for this vurpose CXL CO Arizona the tie UNO. sned Danocnc, a concentrated food. any mixture of grain or aia ies Qa a ene SCGGCe 2S P ot ay es Ste tr vy c a ie) A and snees ypeeds Aen Lad ar (an & WA Tea Pe ca S and De gigenteus Sinee there are no extensive Diniuing twenGrefiyve inords: for secd gormin Vv we ere flexuosus oe fet — wrightii ee ee Giant Sac maiant Re ees 10t as Cc species seecs vor la arre ovolus rene Spor dropseed. in cont: dense clumps. fhe are open, The Be used for human food than abundance of the frasse row draws anc avs 200 tems P| Ou a eo ta at | b as ag C 5 are 1-4 CALS the The flets, areas which rece Sy wooetuke line, ie ciumpa moc only» silters of flood waters. Occasionally gee erass is cut ness of the land after tne large clump from mowing the grass. Alse, it is others even when youn: it is possib two or three vears and acne the hay | grass a tahle crope oer stands iropseed were probably more dense clumos this treatment for trial. od, much form is a close relative more robust, have not dense clumps. tcis renson is well ad- s very long, dense poe Ue fear ae ee pnd 16xicans cior ce a. make it more suitable the pionocr days in New meee with sugar, comnonly m& pouch or sack and used as ti rm applicd sc a iy) an Bik : 4 a aly pikes Ss ro o ie) a U c to od to Arizonse la) of increasce his valuable grass (Sec note on S, aton, is another large, coarse Lt forms very large, oarse and the long seed tops generally species because of the occupy rather nar- ive overflow and which are not revent ¢rosion but act as dee other for hav but the extreme rough- os form discourages land owners much less palatable than many le that ciscing the Por ens ‘land every ilage might make this GRAMINGAL The range of the Giant Sacaton is western Texas to southern California and lMexico.e In the nursery the Giant Sacaton is easily propagated. Its seed production, hewever, is erratic. Twenty-three acres are being planted for increase. This exveriment will be conducted not only on harvesting but also on methods of preventing the grass from form- ing the very large clumps, Sporobolus fimbriatus. Packets of seed of two species of dropseed were received fron South Africa labeled Zragrostis. The error is not surprising as the two bear a striking resemblance to Eragrostis spp.e mentioned above. These have responded beautifully in the nursery but experiments with them have been limited to nur- sery pepe O nae es Further exverimental work is called for before definite results can be reported. The two collections have been determined by Is. Agnes Chase, (Sr. Agrostologist in the United States Departnont of Agriculture), as 5. Pimbriatus. Ree ee ete oe eee Trachyoogon montufari, Crinkle-Avn, This is a grass similar ee ee a en in habit to Hlyonurus barbiculmis. vith us it is confined to south- wostern Texes and extreme southern Arizona. It, however, extends through I'exico and south to Argentine. It is frequently found with Elyon urus barbiculmis and is doubtless similarly hardy. Because of the evms it is probably inferior to ii, barbiculmis for forages ee ne en eee ee ae eee frichacane cae Ee ee is our common ae sontop Grass, pu eeenle Tae a is too ee i be vues as a soil erosion control agent but its swollen knotty base with tena- cious roots suggests its use for this purpose as well as for its forage valuc. There seems to be much confusion with us on the identity of some of our Trichachnes, Under T, californica we have several forms, all promising. We also have what we have called T, insularis from the Baboquivari Mountains anc from western Texas which are by | no means exactly alike. Then we have picked up others which up to now we have callcd Trichachne sp., but have since becn determined Ge cadivornica,s «itl are promising in nursery production. The seeds for IT. patens were received from Texas, This is perhaps the most promising with the possible exception of the T. insularis from the Baboquiveri Mountains, Our nursery work on these must eventually be followed by feeding experiments to determine palatability. In some locnlities all of these are classed as undesirable weeds, ee ed Gr ae FAY Tess 43 Triodia pulcholla, Tluff Grass, is very common on cepleted renges in the soutiniest where the soil is dry and rocky. It is commonly associated with Creosote Pus low turts ere rather 3 oot and frequently the plents shallow rooted. ‘Short stolons r maize an anoreciable ground cover. 3 ants, aowever, are never Fr OV 1. togother to con a cense stand or to form a good binder Stock do not eat an eee amount of this 3 grass, It is possible that its value on control agent 5 et] Se on ceay) Ja* | hh a a a Ww + Pos th Ase - has been underestinated anc that 10 used satisfactorily as + 5 : Sn oer ase Rares | 7 ae a preliminary ground cover and be € rovlaced by. better “AF + TW ey mate Vex em my eyQn “ a -5 4-5 x < - 5 : 5 fe ~ - svocies. No worls has seom done vith this species in the nursery. Matanza ena Lith eee 7 Sicn Mae AS ¢ is GAR Rae YEU A] ? Ce eee Sa | Triocia muticne Tho Slim Triodia is more widely cistributed in the Southyrc system but mol Ssibolonus oa OS iG 2s nos usuals iciently abundant to be a real factor c rather small and the patticlus narrow. Thore ere scverel other Triodias in the sae Sag eet ce ers te Seat einai Ul av om iarqcat ese acne Rec ateterenios aa tl pee te ill are inveresting handsome grasses but choy arc nov + 12 oy souwthivwes e abundant enouch bo :c of mic ish t h value for forere or for orosion con} trol. the more important ones arc T, pilosa, TI. aluescens and TZ. clongata. fll aro buneh erasses which STOW in vory ery, rociy Bcce.. lancoolatum, Vexican Gamn-Grass, is & very rare JO ROU : ntese Three localitics have come to our Huachuca .counteins, one in.syeamore Canyon 3 and one nea southern Arizona. We on the nursery at eee secas in MOSS Vowe. tine ult irriseti cy eels yr che Jicko2can bordor South OL aby, @ i \ howe over , have it growing in some profusion 1ave not gotten growth it scons aze crop under matous roots end tovs a eS ee ae I ce. rs suave Bray to moist pi lection of roots of this specics LO Capon Incr ta: hybricizavion wi CYP Beenie eds The Sedges are too numerous and of too Seng cee ieonce at present to warrant morc than a passing word. m SMey ane 10 mportante lost of them are soil binders of first quality and ° G. those, however, thich are the best soil bin- vO stream banks,= tus their uso is limited, plants witd tricngular stens ond usually saw- ee eee ee % 3 Tepe een 1 , prey aan ise ey : vvperus is ost knorm bir the common name, tlut Grass. oT A CUTS ae has a very wide range, almost throvghout the world, Unlike many f the sodges 1t is pasos ou drought resistant snd is an undoubted Aue binder. Don't plant it in your garden, however. Cladiun jamaiconsis is quite rare in our region though common in swomps in the east and south. It is one of the interesting plants sround the edges of several of the Bottomless Lakes in New Mexico, where it forms dense stands of the tall stems which droop over the edge of the water, The seeds are abundant and doubtless supply much food for water fowl. Scirpus occidentalis is our com:.on bulrush found in the edges of lakes and ponds. it has round, thick pithy stems which are leafless. It is worthless for forage and as it grows only in still water, has no soil-binding value. it is a godsend to the duck hunter, especially the one who can't hit them on the wing. r uit DA Tea) rs PALI HAC as Washinetonia filifera. This beautiful palin has been c RR Tara pag ane mae nik Gel Bae os nia arizgonica, irizona Palm, since sos chi ues Crom the truco Washinstonia filifera which srows at-Palm meas J lled is a t 4 <1 fee b mn a tp ee ee re te lifornia, Se thaS as it may, the palm we fae reference found only in the Nofa Mountains northeast of Yuna. These mountains are execedingly cry, the rainfall being not more than’ three or.four inches per annum, They are very » jagsed and cut by decp, narrow canyonse There is no running water to be Pound in the moun- tains. The palms are found only in the verv steép cuts onening into the larser canyons. frequently these palms are thirty feet high or mare and constituve a sight worth going many miles to seo. The range in which they are located is about ten miles off the, highway between Yuma and Guartzite, Arizona. This ten miles is extremely rocky and the road is hard to negotiate. ‘“ihen vou visit the palms, pian to spend av iéast one hour to travel this last ten miles, Jlany naturalists and wildlife enthusiasts feel that the lKofa i:ounteains should bo set aside &s a National monument, first, to preserve the palms; and second, as-a refuge for mountain sheep. In contrast to many of the southwestern ranges in which mountain sheep live, these mountains secm to Y n eruge. in most other ranges the sheep are there today and perhaps fifty miles away in a very short time, But even in t nora ntains occasionally the water supply is very short. ‘this should be corrected and artificial water holes S idede : Cup éey (Ohi aes 0 'd ae ) ms & 5 I for the summer rains provided. -eferring once more to the palms, it is strange that anyone should care to destroy fe gees as beautiful and unusuol as these palms, yet you will find that many of the trunks ore bere of the olc leaf oo because fire bugs have set fire to thom to enioy seeing them burn. If the mountains were set aside as a Uetional monument end a minimum amount of 5 volicing done, tne future of the valms and the mountain sheep could : H 5 2 q Lie sropageted in the nurseries and be assurcd, PALMACKEAE should be planted along our southwestern highways where the mean annual temperature is high. Groves of the trees have a marked erosion control value and the trees are possibly suitable for use in other southwestern canyons. JUNCACEAL The Rushes resemble the Sedges but are not closely related to them. The stems are cormonly round or flat. Some are good erosion control plants but hardly drought resistant. The most com- mon one in the west is the wire grass, Juncus balticus, so common in moadowse It has a long thick ‘rhizomatous base ond is an execl- lent soil binder. The stems are tough chewing for the cow but they have played a real part in the fairyland of childhood in the weaving of crowns, rings and garlands. LILIACHAB Asparagus officinalis, Asparagus, is not a native of North America, but its use has becane almost universal and in many places it has escaped from cultivation. Where it will grow it is to be recommended as both a forage plant and as an erosion control plant. It requires too much water to be of much value except as a cultivated crop or in sandy bottoms where there is considerable moisture. Dasylerion wheeleri, Sotol, is abundant on cry, rocky slopes from western Toxas to Seetiern nD ona and adjacent Mexico. It has long, narrow, drooping leaves on a thick crown or short trunk, The leaves have curved spines along the margins. These turn towards the free end of the leaves. In some localities the plant is abundant enough to have a noted effect as a soil binder. Since the plants are very slow-growing and are valueless, or nearly so, as forage, we are not using them in our programe The plants, however, have been of economic importance in the past. The butts have been used much as the butts of the Agave for food after being roasted in pits in the ground. A very potent distilled drink was formerly, and doubtless still is, made from the sugary juice of these butts. Tho plant makes an interesting ornamental. Dasylerion leiophyllum, also called Sotol, is very similar to De wheclori. It is the most aggravating plant in the state of Texas. The recurved spines on the leaves curve toward the butts of the leaves and thus catch hold of the passer-by. The plants thus become very hard on pants and likewise on a man's religion. LILIACEAL The distribution is limited to western Texas, adjacent New Mexico and iexico. It has doubtless been used the same as D. leiophylium. *Yucca elata is the common Yucca of the southern vortion of our range. The. trunis often grow to be ee feet high or more. Under cultivation 20-foot trunks are not uncommon. It is probable that this plant has net been proverly eee as an erosion control plant. It has a tenacious fibrous root system and in many valleys is sufficiently abundant to constitute a real factor in erosion control. In times of severe ae aca stock eat the leaves to aie ages and at times the ontire plants have been groune and fed ta stock, thus enabling ae ae to tide over cis- astrous times. “the lowers liv caten by oll ae of livestock. Fortunately for the Yuceas the flowering stalks are usually out of reach. The flowers are also eaten by sevoral tribes of Indians, If it were not for the finicky notion of the whites against cating a few insects along with their food they too would doubtless pe ao solad made of these lerge succulent flowers The roots of this plant constitute one of the anoles so commonly used for soep by the liexicans, A bed of this plant has been grow at Tucson and so dense hrs it become in the bed that it suggests itself for use in plugging gullies or for forming living desilting ae arate onc spreaders above oroding gullies. a) i *Yucce, glauca is the common Yueca of northeastern New Mexico and the foothills of eastern Coloradoe It is low, havin ig little if any stalk, and very narrow, gleucus leaves. In places plants are very abundant. The fruits and flowers are used for food by the Indians, the leaves are sometimes used for making stable brooms, and the roots are use oa for soape Jt seems likely that this plant could be growm for desiltins and spreading structures as suggested in the discussion of Yue *Yucca baccnota,Baceate Yucea, is a low yucea with stiff, rether brosd leaves. it is comnon in northern New liexico and south- ern Colorado and extends westward to Nevada. It vrobably has little erosion control value but might be used by spreading struc- tures. The fruits are used by the Indicns for food both fresh end aricde *Yucca macrocarpa, Bigefruited Yueca, is the common Spanish Bayonet in western Toxas and southern frizona. It is the omo com- monly used for ornamental planting along eae east of El Paso, Texase The trunks become large and often 15 feet cr more tall, a especially under cultivation, ‘Jooton & Standley revort that the LILI:CEA fiber of the leaves of this plant is used extensively for basketry. Since this is more rapid growing and more easily transplanted than some of the Yuccas it might be well to try it for erosion control plantings. *Yucca harrimanise, Harriman Yucca, is a low acaulescent form found “Gaturally 46 sows acy Urals and souvnernsGolenado. 16 forms dense colonies and may be suited for erosion control work. It grows in the heavy slinpery soils with considerable alkali as well as in more rocky sites. It is extremely drought resistant and mey be found suitable for erosion control work in certein sites. *Yucca mon Mohave Yucca, is confined to the extreme desert in nortin izona and adjacent Neveda and California. It extends seuth the desert of rot ver California. Trunks ave chree Vo filtest feet high and grow either singly or in small elomps. “Ut as coubtiul if this plant has es place in our erosion control progran. seedlings in the nursery at Tucson while appar ently healthy, a ow srowinge The one feature about this plant is thet the fruits when ripe are very juicy and have a tine fiavor.. if at were not for the work of the pronuba moth the fruits might readily become a table delicacy, re exorencis: s!. : *Yueca schottii, Schett's Yucca, is confined in our territory extrono STeouthvcseern New Mexico and southorn Arizona. In ante Cruz County its apparent ontimun rants, it grows to be ten t high or more and frequently forms caespitose clumps a rod « it has enormous clusters of large flowers which are greedily eaten by stock when they con reach them. The fruits are darego and both Truivse and flowers are ee used for food by the Indiens. The flowors should be tried cs salad by more adven- oa turous wives of Soil Conservation Service, Veratrum spcciosuti, Falso Hellebore, is widely known in the Rocky Mountains as Skunk Cabbage This, however, 1s more proverly applied to a very differont pliant of the northern and northwostern swomps, Lysichiton kamtschatcnsce The Veratrum grows at high altitudes i in wot placos, forming donse stands. The plents bear largo, dark greon lcaves which at times are Eeee tnt? eaten by shecp, frequently with serious results as the plant is one of the definitely poisonous herbse WNocdless to say, this plent is not a recomnended for crosion control work. Noline bigolovii, This grows in the southwest in the extre- mely hot arid territory in Mohave snd Yuma countics of Arizona and adjacent southern California. It resembles a Yucen instena of a Bear grass and aside fron its nossible use es an ornanontel, is probably valueless. During blooming and sced time it is one of tho most handsome plants on the pocanre The clustors are scoveral feot long and two to throe foet wide, and are pearly white with tinge of grecne : *Nolina microcarpae There are two species of Boar Grass in the southwest. They cre so similer in character and habit that whet cpplies to one applies cqually well to the othor. Nolina microcarps ranges westward in our territory, being common in the mountnins | about Tucson end nortmard. It reaches its maximum development in tho mountains north of Globe, Arizona. Nolina greenii, or what we have beon calling by this namc, is abundant through Dragoon Pass an Arizons, covering severol scctions there. Ht hos very shor, tflowerine sioiks and differs slichtly trom vue typical Ne greonii which is. common on the lower slopes of the Sacremento iounteins and the Gundelupe Mountains in Now Mexico. The western type, I. microcarpa, has tall flowering staiks which stand sevorel fect sbove the 4 tons of the bunches of leaves. in regions where cither species is abundant the plants cre effective in holding the soil, esbecially around ond below the clumps, The leaves are eaten by stock curing storms and excessive drought. It is reported that stockmen at times use the butts and roots for Suociatood citer fringing theri tip. The tall Yucen, Yueca elata, eee is. used in the same way, According to Dr. Gnstetter of the University of New Mexico, the seeds of 1. microcarpa have been ee ee ee = aes me used for food by the iaetiae end doubtless those or I. ereenia ee ee ee have becn similarly used, These two species can be grown from seed in. the mursery very sotisractorily, “Un to the present no muse hes becn made of them in the field Recent observation here revealed that fle greenil alone the Cenee Volley in New lexico is a oe ee heavily browsed | by eattle even when other vegetation is abundant. ATARI TTDANT A oa En lap DS Nise NS heh ST *Agave lecheguilia, known locally .s Lechuguilla, is more limited in its distinction With us then A. schotsii, being con- so, es fined to western Toxas and southern New iexico. It is said to be abundant in northern Vexico, A very siniler plent, possibly identienl, occurs in extreme western Arizona, Lechesuilla is a commercinl plant in i:exico, the leaves being usec extensively for * the fiber used in cordage. The caudices constitute one of the emoles of markets ne Lecheguille is similar in habit to s+. Schottii but the leaves are longer and are armed with hooked spines on the edges in contrast to the spineless leaves of the letter. AMARYLLIDACHAE The flowering stalks of the lecheguilla are also much heavier and. taller than those of 1. schottii. The Agaves have a marked erosion control value but whether they can be used successfully in a reve= getation prosram is doubtful because of their extremely slow growth. Agave huachucensis, Uuachuca Century Plant, is one of the ntury plants which is Abundant in the Iuachuca “ountains of south- ern Arizona and some of the nearby low ranges. Plantsgelosely semble the common century plant but the leaves are ae. shorter and proportionately wider. It often forms pure stands covering small areas on rocky slopes and ridges. Cormaratively recently a permit was issued to a licuor firm to harvest the caudices of this plant in the Huachuca Mountains for the manufacture of mescal, a potent alcoholic beverace possibly no worse than "that good old whiskey" wnich goes down smoothiv and makes its victims see red. Since this Amave is slow growing it is not likely that it will be roised eer ee in convetition with the common century plant which is the source in Mexico of sisal fiber, of pulgue, Mexico's national drink compareble to United ctates becr, and of the potent drink, mescal., In recent voars a syrun of the agave plent has been marketed in the United States as a valliative or cure for high blood pressure,=- even tho drini: mescal has for many years been reported Use, Tenedy Tor arverio sclerosis. There are several othcr Ageves in the southvest, none of Wwiieh* are of importance provably, excopt as ornamontcls. One of the most promising from this point of view is Agave palmeri which has rather narrow long, very thick leaves which ore dark green in color. Agave Sonor, sometimes eniled Amole, is so abundant in the mouhteins of the southwost thet it is often considered a nui- sancee. The short stirf loaves often form a continuous carpet on dry rocky slopes. There is considerablo evidence that the butts oF the plants and the leaves ere enten by rodents, poccaries and probably deer. This seoms tc occur onlv in places where weter is not available. “it scons not unlikely thet this plant mzy sometimes be commercialized to the oxtent thet the caudices and root crowns will be harvested in the ficld since it is high in seponin or a similar substance. The plant has been used probably for centuries by the Indians and later by the Moxicens as a source of leather for washing, the hair particularly. The saponin content is similar to that of the closely related pisnt, Agave lecheguille, and to scycral vor the Wwiccos. ee ae SALICACHAE Populus ac acuminata, Lanceleaf Cottonwood. This poplar is less common in cultivation than many others. ‘footon ¢ Standley in their "Slora of New Mexico" oh cmmena it for ornamental and street plant- ing. Populus lacDougalii, the lacDougal Poplar, and Populus wislizenii, the Vislizen Poplar, are used in the southern part of our range for ornamental and shade trees. Populus alba, the Silver-leafed asa is far '- popular in many places. If will grow almost any place where e a little moisture is assured and sroceeds to make thickets in lawns and meadows and becomes very difficult to eradicate. The beauty of the tree and its value as an erosion control agent cannot be questioned, It should not, however, be planted without due thought of the consee quences. It is not indigenous to the southwest but has been planted in many places and has esceped. Populus angustifolia, the Narrow-leafed Cottonwood, is prob- ably more suitable for planting along streams than any of our other cottonwoods. I% is abundant along mountain streams from Central Arizona and New Mexico to the far north.’ It grows readily from cut- tings ond while srall, furnishes much browse for cows ‘and horses. Populus sargentii, Cottontrood. The use of the broad-leafed poplar In cur erosion control vrozram should always be limited to sites where there is no reason to conserve moisture and to places where a quick shade 1 pecially desirable. 4 bottom Pilled with cottonwoods. is streemless, for the moisture required oO “supply a la water @ much ieee area of grass and quench the thirst of a few cows also. Cottonwoods are not very. good erosion control nts for they wash oue too easily and tend to divert wtcr courses to now chemmels. Willows py SePOC a iy tsmad dt ones, form much greater masses of roots ane scene downstream at flood times insteed of boing uprooted. northorn WN ealix nigre, or the common Black Willow, is probably our most effective tree as 2 soil binder along streams. It forms small reots in such abundence that erosion is largely or completely stopped This ean hardly be spoken of as an overlooked plant as it has lian any other troe in this region. cor other pur’ e the forage value is gone; and the wo G ag! when it crows to an oS ee nn SALICACTAN *Salix exigua, the Basket \Jillow, is ideal for erosion control eee bottoms where there is some »oisture and where erosion is like- ly to become extreme without a vorotective oe cover. This willow is low and becomes very cense on the ground. t flood time it bends downstream, allowing rubbish and water to pass eactay over while the roots hold the soil. This is the willow which is so abundant along the Rio Grande botton. It is to be found along many washes where there is water only at flood time. It grows readily from root or stem cuttings. This is the willow used by Indians in basketry, much more extensively in tho past than now. Helix gooddingii, ‘hat is vario ously. called Dudley Willow, Goodding Willow, or locally, Black Willow, is abundant along the Lower Colorado and the Gila ‘rivorse It grows to be a large willow second only to the Toumeyi Willow in our region. This is reported to be the one being so successfully used along bottoms on the Gila Projocte alix exigua vare This willow, found in the canyons in the Baboquizert cea. 5, is growing well in the nursery at Tucson. Cuttines frow vigorously, making great masses of rather small stems and branches and the roots become very abundant, secming ideal for erosion control. It is so tenacious that it is difficult to dig Up, sprouting from very small roots left in the soil. It seems to be more drought resistant than manv. *Salix taxifolia, Yewleaf s/illow. Our attempts at growing this in the gonna ae not been satisfactory. It is one of our most handsome and unusual willows. It has small silvery leaves and old trees have broad canopy tops. The tree never grows tall but does form an erect single trunk. The limbs are always pruned just 8s high as a cow can reach as the leaves and small twigs are excel-~ lent browse. As this tree is quite es resistant and has a wenacious root system, it is worthy of further attempts to grow it. Apparently the oe Giftieuloy An raising cucvtings 1s in ob taimine young wood of sufficient size, the entire tops of the trees being massos of very slender branches. As this tree is confined to the extreme southern part of Arizona at altitudes of 3,000 to 4,000 feet, it may not be suitable to our more northern and } tigher sites. 4 *Salix bonpicndiana var. touneyie The Toumeyi Willow is the ae eee rene ae most common large willow in Sowshern iene and Northorn Mexico. It often grows to be a tree one to three fect in diameter and some= times fifty Poct high, in habit strongly resembling a cottonwood. It has a very tonacious root system, This should prove to be less satisfactory then smaller willows for crosion control. “e have Vv ether willows in the SOU LOWE y but the above mention- ed group scems to be most outstanding. The willows offer a very A mm - ALICACEATS difficult group to name. They hybridize freely and in the future outstanding willows for certain purposes may be developed. *Ainus tenuifolia, Mountain Alder, is the shrub alder along streams throughout the ¢ OL Mounteins ae northern Arizona and New iexico. It also occurs au, ue Cascades of ‘iashington and Oregon and the Sierra Nevadas of Califernia. Since it requires wet situations in the olunee ne its use for,erosion control is limited though it is an excellent soil binder ee mountain streans. This shrub or small tree is one of the votent reasons for the loss ol religion on the part of western fishermen, *Ainus oblongifolia, Mexican Alder, replaces the A, tenuifolia eter in southern New :’exico and southern Arizona. This species makes a real tree in spite of the statement regarcing it in Sargent's Manual of.the Trees of North America. It is not infrequently fifty feet high or more and sometimes one and one-half feet in diameter. Trees of this size are to be found by the highway from Globe to Young, Arizona; in canyons in the Gallino Mountains along Oak Creek south of Flagstaff; and canyons in the south slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Large trees doubtless occur in other places as well. This tree is an excellent soil binder alorg mountain streams and the size of the tall straight trees suggests. the use of the wood LOrat UNI Cure » Betula fontinalis or Mountain Birch, extends from northern ee eC a one nant fard into nore Ingheaibsst asce.a6s Similar to the small alder. It is an oxecilent stream bank bin« Ger, but can only be used at relatively high altitudes ae ig fresh ia water streams. It is extremely hard on the fisherman's religion. Ddetule ee is a low erect slende restermed birch with small leaves, found only in swamps at high altitudes from Colorado northward. It is 2 good soil binder but its water and altitude requirements precluce its use as an erosion control uu agent at present in manedovised plans. Ostrya imowltoni, the Hon Nornbean, is a small tree and a Very rare ono, Canyon and Oak Creek Canyon in Arizone, ane “iver in Utah as far as records establisl ae erstri one the leaves resenble those of a birch but the fruit resembles that of a hop. is tree should make on interesting novelty in erboretea, otherwise it i + n 5) ah ee wen a Ln Wace utes g is probably valueless. Ostrye eee 1, volley's Hop Hornbcan, is a quite Similar tree: ad confined to the ennyons of the Guacaluve Mountains in southern _ | : ° - a3 iY . , | © . : a 2 ; ; F i « j : 7 * fs F Ee ‘ 4 G \ ’ f : | | . ‘ ini . A he 7 : / : . ' a 7 . i q , New Mexico and adjacent Texas. It srovs to be a much larger tree, frequently forty feet high and eight inches to e foot in dianeter. This, like the previous species, should be grown in arboreta as a novelty. AG! POAT AL pore oe bara #MCrCUs enoryi ae “mory Oak, may well be considered a for- est trec 2 although i ne ee ound commonly in our foothills. The fur- cher they extend invo nee oven at the base of the mountains the more widely spaced they beconc. peice fede om high points they len ‘to the landscape the appearance of orchards. Large Cos arc pauls hollow The wood is very hard and heavy and oxcellent . for firewood, The camper and hiker in the Southwe st is remiss who has not broiled beefsteaks over the conls of the rnory Oak. The scons of this tree are an important Eotice of diet among ciexicans and Indians. in the Pi : Indians go che Pine anc Payson region of Arizona for a Seen of weeks or more on camoing trips at acorn fT Rick these acorns. ost of them contain worms and if sacked and stored immediately after picking are soon a total loss. The indians spread oe newly eee acorns out in the sun and as soon as the shells begin to get hot the larvae emerge, If the acorns are planted im dea uy they cerminate in spite of the larvae. Because of rocents it is probably beXe) in the Field, They should be vlanted in t seedlings transferred to the fisld. , t feasible to sow the acorns 1¢ nursery and the young le the fmory Oals is probabiy the most outstanding oak in the Beene it is in no wer conmarahie to somé ovaers as on erosion control plant. *Quercus gambellii, the Gambeli Oak, and its near relatives se Rn ie ae such as QQ. neosmoxicana, the New Mexico Oaks %. gunrisonii, the ae ew er me pe on ae le a ee Gunnison Oak; utahonsis, the Utah Oak; and vossibiv others, all here classed as Gatbell Oaks, are far superior es soil ie ciedioras. In fact a little study of the Gamicoll Oaks about Prescott, Arizona in the White llountains, and in the Durango region of southern Colorado, must c es anyone ef their merit in holding the soil on stecp hillside Quereus undulata, Rocky Mountain Shin Oak, has followed ancient fires in the mountains south of les Veges, “ew Mexico, along the lower slopes srounc Cimarron, and in the Sacramento Mountains, carpeting and holding thousands: of sections of land that would otherwise be washed into the ocean or at least part Wa Vv e -5l« Gamble oak (Quercus gambelii) Os An excellent soil binder. The acorns supply abundant food for wild pigeons, turkeys, pigs and live stock, PAGACEAS *Quercus Havardi, Navard's Oak, steps into the sand dune re- gions in the Shinneries of eastern New Mexico. ‘\hat this region would be without the oak is hard to conjecture. The bushes are sel- dom more than two feet high but the whole country is completely covered and the sanc stays put. *Quercus turbinella, Scrub Oak. The Turbinate Oak forms pure stands Aone Sen ee section about Prescott, Arizona, and the hills north of Toquerville, Utah, as exannles. These oaks are not very inspiring as trees tut the a are staying where they belong because of them. The acorns of these are collected by the Indians in southern Utah for food. While they contain more tannin han the Bmory acorns, thoy still sustain tho inner man. Qur work has been confined almost exclusively to the Emory 6 ale e UL i TA C a A 5 *Wlonus punile, Chinese Blu, is an exotic as the name indi- cates. It is one of the favorite troes for street planting over wide areas at low and medium altitudes. Its drovcht resistance is marked though it makes very slow growth when not irrigated or planted where there is a high water table. it succumbs quickly He Texas cotton root rot and for that reason is not desirable in any parts of the southest. i *Celtis pallida, Nackberry. An ever recurring topic when erosion control - “being considered is that of wildlife and any program of conservation is hardly complete without some treatment oF plants suitable for game food and game refuge. In the extreme aesert probably no plant is more important than the desert hack- berry.e. It forms dense thorny thic: cots and bears a very delectable fruit considered from the standvoint of the taste of birds and foxes. It has not been tried as an erosion control plant in arly planting program but in its natural sites in draws and along washes, it is an excellent soil binder. Jt is readily propagated by seed and. root sprouts. *Celtis reticulata, Palo Blanco or ‘shite Bark Hackberry. Shade for stock Gs an iter frequently not considered in our con- servation programs. . Stock often gather along bottoms where shade is abundant anc trammle as woll as eat all available material. The western hackberrv furnishes shade along many of the dry washes and even up on the dry sloves where otherwise shade would be unavailable. It forms a small syumetrical tros and furnishes an abundsence of fruivs relisted by birds and foxes, 16 is easily propagated by seeds and the very long roots are execllent soil binders along washes and draws, MORACEAE *Morus microphylla, Native I’ulberry. Few of our indigenous trees have a mie a aes on than our small and exceedingly var- iable native mulberry. It is common throughout the southwest at titudes from 2,000 to 6,000 feet. requently it grows singly but more often in dense Acere In many places near the road from Tucson to Oracle, Arizona, it forms clumps along the bottoms of swales and along roclky washes in open dry sites, !.ore frequently it occurs along very roclyy wasnes and in canyons in the mountains. It is par- ticularly fond of roclcy north-facing sloves below cliffs or high bluffs.- The fruits are cormonly very small and are not produced in too great avundance. They are, however, more tart and of better flavor than the usual cultivated mulberry. The fruits are difficult to collect because they are scottering on the trees anc mostly be= cause the birds get to them » ihe trees are excellent isort 21? binders where they occur alons washes, the lonz horizontal roots often effectively holding arroyo banks. It seems likely that strains can be found which will nroduce fruit of a size better suited to col- lection or which will »roduce trees of larger size and better growth a t& habit. For example, a tree was found on the American Nanch out of tS) GW Nan io} a \ © une wsua siz aha Prescott, Arizona which bore fruit fully twice the wstal size and of excellent. flavor. Trees much tallor then the usual run and much more shapely, were found in the Kofa Mountains of western Arizona. Since mile arates can be persuaded to srow from cuttings, these offer pe ee oer The Russian and «shite mulberry trees also offer possibilities. They form good trees and produce abundant fruit for birds. Thovy are not so drought resistant as the nee Orangee The nurserics srow many thousand of thesc each season. Maclura ponifers (Toxylon pom ferun), Osage Orange, is very drought res resistant were it once becomes establishcd. It forms an extensive and intricate BOY system when grown in hedgcs and makes a) — Sxcoluent: WiInGprunice aad: base cee oe wood is durable and is much used for fence posts. ieee TOO ,0CO vientstero ready for digtripu= {3 4 o) fo) ch tion from the nurseries to the projects, U1 range is hardly feasible. secding on the Humulus lupulus vor. reoemexicana, Tho Wild Hop has becn suggested for crosion control. in certain sitcs where thore is adequate moisture it should do admirable work. JZelow Nutrioso,. Arizona along a valley which had bccome badly gullied, hops are growing over the benks and daqing a remarkable work in soil binding. The hop, howcever,.is Limited to sites with considerable moisture. By ener maence it grows in willow and brush thickets along streams. The hop has been widely distributed throughout the world as a result of its use for the manufacturo of yeast and beers Our hop is yery closely related to the hop of commerce. In fact the native hops were formorly gathered in quantity for the local markets. In 1937 our Service sent frosh plants to Cornell University for experimental MORAC AE vorlc in the production of hop mildew-resistant strains. Some plants, also, were set out on the Albuquerque Nursery for trial. in this location where the ground contains considerable alkali the hop does not seem harpy.e Juglans majore Our native black walnut or “Nogal, is worthy to be classed with our forest trees although it is frequently to be found along caniyons and pia below ee general forest boundarv. The trees are frequently larse, with s sreacing tops. The roots are very effective in binding bouldere and dirt in washes where floods- are severe. The vood is of suverior guality, the stumps especially, being sold on the at fancy prices. The trees are, however, very slow growing muts though of excellent flavor, have a shell so hard and ick that thes are all but valuelesse They are, however, frequentiy gathered and used by Nexicans and Indians, &x- ensive experiments Rove been conducted in grefting other species ornito this trece In the Fuachuca Mountains, tr. Biederman, since deceased, grafted conc or store different svecics and varieties onto his native trees. Some of those frafts were very promising. *Juglans rupostris, Little “alnut. In our range this species 2 uthern New itexico, It can hardly nser stands than J. major. is confinec to western Texas and so be classed as a tres. It forms much dens loading out of the Sacramento The bottoms of many of the rocky washes Lountains to thc east and the Cuadaluves to the south, are effectively held by thickets of those large shrubs, The nuts ere yery smli but are produced in abundance. Phoradendron sppe The istletoes are economic plants be cause of their cxtrenc destructiveness. It taken nore than Christmas sentiment in the treo lover to worl. up an appreciation zor these pests. The cottonwoods in the Nic Grande Valley are in places solid masses of mistletoe. Nor is this the only trec att- ackede Walnuts, Ashe pompoerrs trees, iesquites, Catclaws, Junipers and Cypress are attacked and a vory close relative, the t) 8 Areocuthobium, avtacks pines cree ba ene ‘exican white pine (P. strobiformis), would be an important tree in the saithvwestern ranges if it were not for this pest. A 4 TIT Aa SL AURURA SONY as) callecé Yorba ileansa by the Mexicans, is a eee broad-leafcd herb wie is very abundant in wot alkali bottoms in New Mexico, Arizoe, sovthum Utah, southern Nevada - de sn pan Feet iy ae 4 . AARTTOTTIN A ATL A Tt honey, PaGU pane ee ewe we] and southern California. It hes handsome white flowers resembling anemones» The leaves and stems have a strong medicinal ocor and the plant is evident]: used mecicinally by the Mexicans. While the plant has a good root system and forms pure stands, it is hardly suitable for erosion control as it coes not thrive on even wet soil that is well drained. POLYGONACHAT pees ee wrigntii is perhaps the most common Buckwheat in the mountains of the southvest. It ranges from pene A Texas to southern California and southward into Mexico In many places ~/ e in the foothills and even up to altitudes of 6,000 or 7,000 feet, it forms s considerable part of the ground cover and constitutes one of the most veluetle of the browse shrubs. In regions where Page’ has been no Jaen this plant frequently reaches a height a) of three feet and forms a compact mass of slender twigs with narrow, grayish leaves. The white to pink flowers are in dense racemes. We have handsome beds of this growing in the nursery at Tucson and in the Safford Hursery.e The bushes can be cut close to the ground arter the seed matures without injury to the plants. This Buckwheat is worthy of extensive observetional work,- in fact its value through observations on the ranze can be considered well established, *Erilogonun leptophyilum is abundant in parts of the Navajo Indian Reservation, particularly in the viel wily OL een Oprings, It:.is a rather slender, erect shrub which is heavily cae tart 200 ee to Mr. Musgrave, urosion Control Fractices, formerly of the esearch eos » 5oll Conservation Service. This Duclnvtheat doubt+ 1eee a@ocs not fie, . , ‘ é ; : : a ; : ¢ ‘i . rs 6 ; d Ps ae Bs Tee A , : y ATITD 4 ROSA PLS.) HAT north-facing slopes, often forming dense low brush thickets. In such sites it is an excellent soil binder, The berries are so small that canaries must have trouble locating then. There are other species of Rubus, all of which have sone value as soil binders and as wildlife plents. All srow in sites in the mountains where erosion is not commonly active. Rubus strigosus, the ‘and Red Raspberry, however, because of its hori- zontad root system and sprouting habit, should be considered in certain sites in the mountains where overgrazing has started active erosion. The fruits of this vlant are also delicious, Rubus deliciosus and its close relatives are called Thimble Her- rieSe In places where they are abundant they are ouite effective soil binders. Thoy are much more drought resistant than the true raspberrics anc the ee ee they have large leaves and largo white flowers. The fruits are greedily eaten by birds. It is not improbable that some of the cultivated raspberries and blackberrics may have a place in erosion control and wildiife plans. They frequently escape from cultivation in favorable sites along cenyons and drawse At times such species as the Himalaya and the Evergreen Blackberry,. become real pests. re.ta, sppe There are two, possibly four species of Haw —— nT Ce rivularis has a mucn wider distribution than Or i in the sc the one or more othors, extending as it does from northeastern ee ee ee ee ene re Nevada end Idaho to northorn New Mexico. It is the common Dlack lige southern Colorado. It grows singly or in clumps along moun- Y tain streams and is nowhere very abundant. It is suitable for an a orna hae l and for bird food. As on erosion control plant it indisferent and since it is e host for Juniper apple rusts it He Mscdewath resurains af ot old « saligna isa somewhat smaller tree or shrub confined to nort NCW liexico, northern Arizona and adjacent Uteh and Colorado, it is oon nd a7 von OSS ennyons- in clumps or singly. It is readily Cistinguished in the fall by its red fruits. ©. wootoniana anc C. ee resciee are reported in ‘iooton & Standleyts Flora of New Mexico. further studies of these two species is necessary before they can be even casually discussed. *Mallugia par paradoxa, Apache Plume, is wicely distributed in the west. ‘ith us it occupies dry, rocky washes and bottom lands from 1,000 to 7,900 feet aititude Sten iginty our rangee Itisa soil conserver of the first quality, is excellent browse and sur- vives heavy gcrazinge In washes the tops bend downstream during floods and often become buried, only to sprout up from the tops. Often underground stems resembling rhizomes or horizontal roots becorie ¢ amass of tangled roots suggzesting their use for cuttings oO oso : ' ia! r 1 : j : i ' e ; ROSACEAE Plants of this character, however, handled with extreme care give practically no results in the nursery or the field. Seeds, however, germinate readily and one year old seedlings are not difficult to trensplant. Direct planting of the Apache Plume in the field should give good results if prover methods can be developed. Vauquelinia californica or /rizona Rosewood, is an evergreen tree with thick, ‘grayish, linear crenate-margined ee and large elusters of white rosaceous flowers. items frequently a tree up to 30 feet high with a trunk 1 to 1S feet in diameter. More often, however, it is a low, much een ee shrub. The vood is very beauti- ful and as hard as adamant and very heavy. Apparently it has never been used for commercial purposes owing to the inaccessibility of the trees, their extreme slow growth and small size. It is confined to the southwestern ranges from southwestern New Mexico to southern California and south into Mexico. Owing to its extreme slow growth it is unsuited to erosion control work. kecently this was discovered to be the host of one of the Gymosnorangsias which attacks Junipers Sorbus, scopulina, tho Mountain Ash, has a very wide range in the west © but grows at relatively high altitudes. It is frequently used. as a yard and street ornament:l because of its beautiful pin= {| | nate foliaze and large clusters of flowers and fruits. It is one of the ormamentals which is frequently sold in commercial nurseries. It has no place in a revegetation program except possibly as an ornamental along highways at high altitudes. One of the Gynmnos- porangia attacking Junipers lives on this as its aiternate host. Peraphyllum ramosissimun, Colorado Bitter Crab, is a tall, widely spreading shrub, “Jery co-mon in southern Colorado and ex- tending into northern New Mexico, It has narrow leaves and blos- soms and fruits which closely resemble those of the apple. It is —_ an excellent soil binder on slopes just below the yellow pine reg ion and extending into the pinons, Its use in the revegetation program cannot be recommended, however, where junipers are likely to be planted or where thoy are already presents It is extremely susceptible to at least two of the Gymosporangias Calliandra eriophylla, Tairy Duster, stands paramount among shrubs ¢n our extreme eouthrest ranges hee as an erosion control plant and as forage. It ranges throughout western Texas, southern Arizona, New Mexico and almost throughout Mexico. A sood grass range we siti dotted with this plant can be considered the ideal stock rangee This shrub ean be eaten dovm close to the ground and thonou- ghly tramoled ond yet survive. Seed germinate readily and ane i MIMOSACEARE grow well in the nursery. Seed, however, are difficult to collect and plants with well developed root systems are hard to transplant, at least from the field. Calliandra humilis is hardly comparable to ©, eriophylla, chiefly “Tecatse of its conparative scarcity. It has n wider range with us than the latter, extending farther north and reaching into higher altitudes. It is, however, confined to central and southern frizoma and outside of Mexico, It is highly palatable and a fair soil binder but does not withstand grazing well. Calliandra reticulata is even less undant then C. humilis It is so small, usurlly not more than six inehes tall, and so pore on the ground that it ieerclativoly unimportant either for praging Urimor icrosion.convrol, its hash peiatabality is one reason tor ae relative scareicye It has anproximatcly the same range os C0, chottii is probably confined in our range to the Raboquivari, som "Oecd and Cs Mountains. Jt 18.2 har= perebusit then oven end is more erect in habit. Clumps which hive not been st ia eragoda are three to four Toot highs Each plant is.4-donse fete of stcms with a root system composed or numerous fibrous roots s gquxrter of an inch or more in diameter. This species promises to be important where it will grow within our rangee Up to the present we have obtained no seed for propagation worl. Lysilome thornberii is a verv rare shrub found only in our range in the extrene southwestern mountains. It was described nad material collected by Se essor Thornber in the Rincon Mountain east of Tucson, Arizona. It occurs also in the Paboquivaris a doubtless Here of the southwestern ranges. It quite clogely re- Scubies Acacia millzrolia. In fact, tne Wsual observer gould pronounce this plant an Acacia. It is somewhat taller than A. nillifolia and probably is suiteble for use under similar conditions r si t in which the last species may be useéde oO and in. simila ely distributed throughout the southern New Mexico and Mexico. It is most abundant alongs dra mles and rocky canyons from 2,000 to 6,000 feet elevation. Occasionally it makes a small tree — is More frequently a sprawling shrub. The recurved thorns make this plant umwelcome to stock and men, though it is a good soil binder and is Rees to somo extent, The flowers are visited by innumerable becs and Catclaw honey is highly prized. The wood is very hard end aN and is used loceliy for making sinsle-trees, oe eee PSA bake alt | 3 S descrt recrions se Sata 1 Arizona, Ws, SW Lee oes a TIMOSACEAB double-trees, tool handles, wagon-body stakes and for firewood. This plent is to be recommended for use on critical areas in draws where grazing should be discouraged. *Acacis constricta var. paucispina is occasionally a smeli —- tree but nore often @ tall shrub. It rengcs from western Texas to southern Arizona in very dry rocky mecas and along rocky canyons ond draws. The small, abundant and very fragrant bells of flowers \L and the straight thorns separate it readily from. the Satclew bush. In habit this bush is much less desireable for erosion than the Catclaw, as this hrs an erect habit and comnonly a short single trunk from which the branchos rise sbruptly. The seeds of this specics mre easy to collect and they germinate readily. The shrubs hve a low fornge value. fieacin sppe We have several Acccias in the southwest besides those already discussed (A. grecolii, A. constricta ver. paucis spina). Some of these are thornless and wre or less herbaceous but have excellent rhizomatous roots. A. le:rmoni. occurs in the southern vart e Arizona and frecuently forms a considerable part of the ground covere The base of the plant is somewhat shrubby. The leaves are very finely divided, While this is not among the best forage plants, it is, however, browsed and its vaiue for erosion control cannot be euscounted. Jt occupies quite dry slopes in the lower oak belt of much ranges as the Tuachvucas, Santa Ritas and the Chiricahuas. *NX$cacia suffrutescens is very shi — * miler to A. lemmoni, its rence, however, scems to be considerably wider, it being found in some abundance in the mountains near Globe and the plateaus near Flasstaff, as well as in the more so rn ranges in Arizona. For all Seceat purposes it can be considered along with A. lemmoni. ewes < e eee ee 1 shrub with very CU=as founds 10 in a Peed range iE + ee Eine lier Aaa lean consicereble eouncenae on low limestone ridges i ig) * Ac a.cie. midtatolte: is a low to moderately tal e rathor streight sten £ in southcastern Arizons and New Tlexico. t doubtless oc- eurs in freater abundance Ora the ridges east of Douglas, Arizona it forms considsrab! iG Tse neal y ae var- tieulerly by sheep, It is oxtre ue drougnt resistant and its value as a browse shrub recommends it for revegetation programs. It is — mot unlikely thet its range can be greatly extended. The region in 4 . = A ie) which it occurs is frequently quite cold. This shrub should be tried as an ornenental. *Mimosa biuncifera is commonly called Catclaw although this i term is possibly better applied to Acacia groggii.s The entire bush, including the flowers, suggests Acacia. The leaves are finely coer Ce oe of et ae a MIMOSACEAE divided and the stems are fortified with heavy curved thorns. The shrub is commonly low and spreading and as it occupies dry draws and canyons, is frequently a noteworthy soil binder. One reason for its excellence is the fact that stock do not normally enjoy negotiating the dense stands of the shrub. This shrub is wide- spread through western Texas and the southern half of New Mexico and most of Arizona. Naturally it extends into Old Mexico but it is not reported from southern California. It has very little value as forage but the extremely abundant small peas must constitute a good part of the bird food during the fall and winter. This plant is well worthy of work in selection and hybridization although it ls in many places a distinct pest. *Mimosa dysocarpa is much less abundant in our range and does not extend as far north as does Ni. biuncifera. It is very similar in habit but commonly does not grow as tall and consequently is a somewhat more desirable shrub. The flowers are pink and form short spikes and during the blooming time are a beautiful sight on the desert. The seed pods of this species are curious in that they fall apart in se ereries ach segment carrying a seed. Mimosa lemmoni is a rare shrub in extreme southern New Mexico and southern Arizona. It does not grow as tall as the other two Mimoses mentioned. Its leaves are norny as well as the stems and branches. ven the pods are armed with curved thorns. It is com- parable in crosion control to M. dysocarpa. Morongia occidentalis is a semi~herbaceous vine occurring in western “Texas and adjoining New Mexico. It is prostrate, has fine- ly divided leaves and is armed with numerous curved thorns. With us it is very rare but its prostrate habit and drought resistance suggest it as having possibilities for erosion control. **kDesmodium cinerascens is a tall perennial legume with some- what woody base and crect, branching clone eeaaonme eo ane a height. It has trifoliate, reticulately vcined leaves and pods which form loments. The group, Desmodium, is often referred to as the Tick Trefoil because the pods have a way of breaking apart at the segments and frequently stick to a person's clothing. This plant is abundant in limited arcas in the mountains of extreme south- ern Arizona at altitudes of 4,000 to 5,000 fect. It is not usually sufficiontly abundant to be a great factor in crosion control but with some human encouragement it may prove to be worthwhile. Its palatability is probably rather low. **This should follow Acschynomene, p.93. IMOSACEAE *Desmodium bachtocaulis resembles somewhat D. cinerascens but the stems aro léss ercet and more branches and the entire plant is more fragile in general appearance. It has rathor soft, slightly hairy, trifoliate leaves which are only slightly reticulately veined. The loments of the pods are much smaller than those of D. cinerascens. This plant is abundant in limited aroas in the mountains of extreme southwestcrn New Mexico and it doubtless occurs in southern Arizona oe well, The root systom and the somieprostrrte habit of this plant make it much more desirable for an crosion control plant than the D. cinorascerise ib is crlso mrobably much bettor forage. nm me ne *Desmodiun grahami is a perennial vine or seni-prostrate herb or vine with trifoliate . leaves, the leaflets of which are ovate. aie Joments of the pods are quite large. fhe prostrate habit and livided woody root syetemn make it an sac ee erosion control plant. Tt is, however, reiotively rare in the southwest. Jt cecurs in the vicinity of Prescott and doubtless eee the Mogollon region of Arizona and adjacens ilew Mexico. No data is available on its palatability but 16 is probably rclatively good. Desmodium angustifolium is'a very rare and handsome tick Umet OdaL “Fron Santa Cruz Gounty in Arizonas ‘Tho leaves are sinple end very long and narrow, the blades beins often as long as five inehese The Desmodium are cormonly three-foliate. The plant has an excollent root system and should make a good erosion control and forage plant. It is extremcly rare, however, and has never been srown in the nurserics. Desmoidum bisclovii and D. rosei are amuals, possibly of no significance. These plents are confined to the southern seplee of New Mexico and adjacent Arizona. It may prove interesting a profitable to try theso in observational work as annual ee cover leguincs. *Prosopis glandulosa, his Mesquite is much smaller than semen ene Sime seme tan «ore P, velutina,- in fact it is commonly a low shrub frequently half wee te ee eee covered by sand. Vast arees in southern New Mexico and adjacent Texas aro covercd with low clumns of this ee and with sand dunes. The question naturally arises in one's mind what would happen if the mesquite were not there. It is certain the sand dune condition is caused primerily by overgrazing. It may be that the mesquitcs in the dunes aggravate the movement of the sand by divert- ing tho wind inte chenncls. These aes dunes offer an excellent eo yedceade | for a study tei : Of PraAsses Sua. a ee eminens end eee such as Elvmus PRT PnTE ee ar 5 ate te ey ae MIMOSACEAE should help to fix the small dunes. Prosopis glandulosa offers the ee ee ee ee ee same opportunity to make selections for fruits as P. velutina. *Prosopis velutina. There can be very little excuse for plant- ing this mesquite for erosion controle Along river bottoms it hes become sufficiently dense to crowd out all grass and most other vegetation. During heavy rains it is probable the ton soil is more readily carried off than it would be if the Saviee were covered with grass or even weeds, such as Russian Thistle. Jlesquites have steadily spread on grazing land until they occupy even much land on the slopes of hills. Mesquite trees are browsed but many a cow has starved to death in a mesquite thicket. The chief value in the mesquite is the fruit. All kinds of stock grow fat when the beans begin to drops Occasionally, however, horses die of dare boweljs from eating the pods. At the time of ripening the beans themselves are too hard to be digested and stock eating the vods see dis- seminate the seedse die i ee = ae fae oe his f 4 oe KRAMERIACEAE Krameria glandulosa, “hatany. The Kramerias are curious shrubs, so curious that taxonomists disagree about their relatives. Some say they go in with the peas and some say they are related to the milkwort. The flowers are pea-like but the sepals are the showy part and there are only four stamens, The fruit is almost like a nut and is covered with prickles. Tho above species is an excel- lent browse plant and is widely distributed: ‘i/estern Texas through southern New Mexico and southern Arizone to southern Utah, Nevada and California. It also extends from Chihuahua to Lower California in Mexico. Dry rocky sites are most suiteble to it. In the nursery it has oroved curious, i. large bed next to a plot of Parryella filifolia was planted to Krancria glanculosa.e The young plants wero uniforia upon germinntion. Later, however, all the plants avay from the Parryolle bed diod while those close to it began to grow ais rapidlv. Shade? No, for the Krameria was south of the Parryella and when tho Krameria vlants began to show best growth the Parryella had been dug upe Tho Parryolls. sprouted from the roots. , There is no evidence of damare to the Parryclle and no apparcnt evidence of root parasitism. t seoms likely that efforts to grow Krameria e ~ without proper association with certain selected plants of symbio- tic importance to them, will meet with failure. Kramorio sccundiflora strikingly resombles K, glandulosa. It, howovor, is woody oniy at the base and the top trails on the grounde As it is more herbacoous than i. glandulosa, it is much better forare. This ranges as far coast as Florida but extends only xs fer west as central Ari zona, whereas K. glandulosa extends into southern California but does not grov + further east than western Texass Both species oxtend far down into Mexico. Ta) There are other species oi important. Krameria which may prove to be mca STAT ap CAE BAIS Hoffmansege densiflora, usually called Hog Potato, is com- mon in waste places ee abandoned lands from southwestern Texas to southern California, southern Nevada and southern Utah. It is a low, herbaceous eaten eae perennial with numerous thick, tuberous roots, finely divided leaves and sotiommelcteees The roots have been used in the past for human food, especially by the Indians, and hogs are very fond of them. Since this plant occupies very poor wasteland snd since it is a soil binder and a legume, it is worthy of considerable attention. It should be possible by selection and perhaps breeding, to produce plants which will 7111 a real niche in the economy of the southwest. There are several other spocies, sone of which may be suitable for revegetation work. ‘Ee Oe. Nahi) ke ih a CA poset che Caesalpinia gilliesii or Bird of Paradise, is a tall shrub with bipinr abe leaves, very. fine leaflets and large showy yellow flowers. It was introduced in the southwest at a very early date ag an ornamental and has escaped from cultivation in many locali- ties. Along rocky arroyos in the foothills it probably has some erosion control value. It is, however, valueless as forage and be- cause of its disasreeable odor, not too desirable as an ornamental. Cassia wislizeni This is totally unlike the common Cassia of the southwest. It S a spreading bush with small dark green leaflets and large fragrant yellow flowers, It - confined to a narrow belt in ue aos New Mexico and southeastern Arizona within the United States but extends into Mexico. “This aeate be used ex= tonsively as an ornamental in the werner parts of our range. It is almost valueless for erosion control or for foraze. is a low gray herbace srennial with rather large (eres yvollow flowers. It is ommon in southern New Mexico and southern one in the foothills... De 1s of iactie value for crosion control and nono for forage, and among other things fest + has a very orfensive odor, Closeiv related ae EVO 70g eee and C. eon and C. bauhinioidc car the Mexica Cassia beotocarpa is a rather tall bush= af like herbaceous per- LGaVvOs, pointed l.carlets and very ong, er eee ee enniel with coarse squarish pods Ev flensive odor and is of no forage value, Pos Subs icionuly to DOO Paarson) binder. It rongpes 2rom wostert ipizona cud southcrn New Moxico, south to South 4 It is hishiv probable that aii of these Uassias are important bird food plants as they procuce large amounts of small peaelike seeds. Chamaecristea nictit which ha Be au err eeel waste places and over annual with very smel - OmiGwol! wlan sensitive plant Ic secupies short-lived .lue as an erosion ile a6 & Quick pea erop and as a SS OF OUNCr Verenhiat ee “lb cad rec I wT be ce lowers ang Gietinsctly sensitive TeOVCSis *ohomaeccrista v. is 4 perennial with a nard wood root and herbaccous too. It is sufficiently abundant in places to be a ECan (2 aCLor a ey oelon Gortrol, and opparently ic 1s cane beater | | | | cy | . . UF .o | | | | | | . | | vores CASO TART AM Westgate oth iA forage plent than the amual. It is confined in our region to south- ern /rizonn and »rebsbly acjacent New Mexico. °: ' Cercis occidentalis. ‘When our \estern Pedbud is better known doubtless it will be more widely used as an ornamental. It closely resembles the eastern redbud net lends such beeuty to the hard- woods regions in the east in early sorins. With us the redbud is a large shrub or small tree found only in rather secluded places in eanyons and rock crevices in southern Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona. - been located in the Grand Canyon where it is abunde.nt in the Superstition Mountains anc in the Saboguivari Oo @xMerimenteal work hee been carried on ae Pies alge +} e J Mounteins in Arizons with this svecies ine should be ronermborcdc the i ~ -| + + + 5 Ri peat el Onc: Ube 26 usa beatenas *Gloditsia triacanthos, the Honey Locust, has been planted in many sections of the United Statce and clscvhiere. Some years 4 baci contests were conducted in the schools and clsewhere to obtain the largest seed nods. Some experiments werc conducted to determine the sugar content of the vods, In every way the tree shows remark- eble possibilities. it is mich hardior than black locust, not boing subject to borer attacks but docs not produce such durable wood. The pods constituto exccilent food for stock and may be utilized for human consumption. If mothods can be devised to grind the nods end seeds to adé to their value for food for stock, the use of this spocics should bo accelerated. As a tree ror range planting in Region 6 its use has been at least for the present abandoned because of severe damage to the young trocs by rabbits . ably the most important of our loncdsome orneamcntal orocrems in our warmer B t Wings 6 has been intro= duced oe pouth Africe and hos cseaped cultivation im many places 2 at 3 Palovorde pecs has igemrer uel osion control plant as it is not a sutfrici heve becon usod.im the past for human food and ther a1 reodily caten vy animals vhen they can be roached,. Gereacium correyanum, ‘the larce Paloverce, i its Het pia a a - / eormon sizhts on the descrt, Dovbdticss ; age: in holding the soil (clong cry washes, Since our work thus 3 been confined to rozicns in which none of the Be ees wil grow, this tree has not gained « place in our planting or nursory programs. 1%; however, picnys « “pert in the cconony of uel hemmeohensne neuer, Ue eans (re, ULovscer sy stock 1nd wore Pormerly caton. oy Imdinme. a i pYo? 1 3 i re a) a f ! = Ti ; 7 iy Mt i 5 i fea a! hoe Ait. i CASSIACEAE It is hard to understand why more use has not been made of beans produced in such abundance as those of the paloverde. If they are digestable, as is evidenced by the fact that they were formerly used, it is high time some domestic science teacher or hill-billy school teacher learns how to stew them. The wood is of rather poor grade as the sap-wood decays quite rapidly and is soon honey-combed by termites. It, however, brightens many a camp fire and liberal guantitics arc mixed with mesquite and sold to the unsophisticated in the towns. Parkinsonia microphylla, the smell Paloverde, is very similar to 0 Cerctdiim torreyamin. ToC does not commonly reach so large a size. ae a ee ee ee The beans are comparable to those of the other paloverdes. PAPILIONACEAS Sophora secundiflora, Coral Bean, is reported in Sargent's Manual as a tree. it is, however, usually a. shrub three or four feet high. It is limited in its range to western Texas and extreme southern New Mexico in rocky limestone canyons. The leaves resemble those of a Sumac but are light grayish green, thick and cvergreen. The bkue flowers grow on long, drooping spikes and are very hand- somc. The seeds contain a poisonous alkaloid and the plants are reported to be poisonous to stock. They, however, are extremely rarely browsed. This shrub is one of the most beantiful in the southwest and woll worthy of extensive cultivation as an ornamental. Sophora arizonica is very similar to ve secundiflora but has smaller eversreen loaves and shorter spikes of bluc flowers ies ae atic to very limited areas in Ari na, apparently havane been reportod onlv from the lower footh is ae the base of the north end of the Graham Mounteins anc the dos t regions sae es and west of Kingman. This plant should be roots for ornamental purposes. Since it is vrobably somewhat voisonous it should nae ie uscd in any re- vegetation program. *Sophora stenophyllia is « very interesting poronnial herb with finely divided leaves and capitate clusters of large blue flowers. It is a typical sand plant, confined to regons of drift- ing send. It has long, horizontal roots which sprout freely and as it frequently forms a complete ground cover, it is an oxcellont sand binder. It scemse to be unpalatable to stock. Its known dis tribution is confined to northern Arizona, southern Utah, southern Nevada and northern New Mexico. Sophora sericea. is a low herbaceous perennial with rather e 1s C@ ine its range to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and adjacent plains from South Dakota to Texas and PAPILIONACTAE west to Utah. In Colorado and ‘iyoming it is frequently quite abun- dant and constitutes a fair erosion control plant. It is, however, listed among the weeds that are kmown to be poisonous and for this reason should not be considered in a revegetation program. Crotalaria lupuline, Rattle ‘Weed, has been suggested for a leguminous ground cover and nurse crop, ‘With a little rainfall it malzes a rapid growth, especially along sandy washes. It is quite palatable to stock. “le ae not used it in the nursery or on our observational plots up to the present. Seed is casily collected by nande *Trifolium fragiferum is the Strawberry Clover recently intro- duced through the Agricultural paren eg Station in Colorado to the west. It is reported to be a very excellent clover for damp, alkali ground. The small planting at Albuquerque is doing excellently. Thus far it has not been tried on the open rangee It requires too much moisture for use except in selected sites in moist alkali regions. *Trifolium branderii is the Spruce Clover of southern Colorado. It is conrined to the relatively high mountains in the belt of the spruces or just below it. fecording to Mr. Mann of the Rio Grande Project, Soil Conservation Service, this is a wonder plant as a soil binder and as forage in the mountains of southern Colorado. We plan to try this in the nursery at Albuquerque as soon as sceds or plants can be obtaincod. Lotus sppe, Deer Clover. This genus ‘includes many of our very importent crosion control and ona eS plants. It must be remembered also that they are legumes, and legumes must hold a vital place in any program of soii rehabilitation. There are numerous species in the southwest, Some of them are annuals of very little importance except for wildlife, while others are deep rooted perennials which are active in controlline soil erosion, Among the very common ones are L, rigidus, L, greenei, and L. longibracteatus. All of these ee = SESE ele eee — a are perennialse ‘the firs L. rigicus, js common on dry rocky slo- pes of the southwestern mace eoCse Secs stiff and almost leafless. In general appearance it resembles a shrub. The top, however, dies down during the winter. While it is an important for- age plant, it is less palatable than many of the others and its root and crown habit do not recommend it so highly for erosion control. This and the othor species are important bird food plants. *Lotus wrightii has a much wider general distribution than L. rigidus. {€ Ts an important erosion control and ace plant on dry slopes in the Kaibab Region of Arizona, in the Mogollon Plateau, the mountains and plains about Prescott and es Api ones the mountains Sn Due Cedar City, Utah, and those of southern New Mexicoe -83~< PAPJLIONUACHA It is probably our most valuable southern Lotus. *Lotus greenei is a perennial with spreading habit and dis- tinctly avery colored leaves, found on our extreme southwestern reangese. It is comparable to ibe wrightii and possibly can be grown at a somewhat lower altitude. Lotus 103 1gibracteatus can readily be confused with L. greenei. eG apparently is ; relatively | scarce but has been reported from a wide range, for example, Zion National Park in Utah and the Graham Moun- tains in Arizona. Two very rare species of Lotus have been recently reported from southern Arizona. One of these , L. hamatus,is a low soread- ing annual which occupics extremely dry sites. Annuals of this type should not be overlooked as they constitute excellent ground cover on waste sites. It has been found only on the flats northeast of the Baboquivari Mountains. Another Lotus which has every appearance of being « much worthwhile plant for erosion control is L. alamosanus*. It is abundant in rether moist situations in Sycamore Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Until recently it had not been reported north of Mexico. It forms very dense turf and effectively holds the soil in canyon bottoms during flood periodse Its use will be limited to rather moist situations comparable with those where it was located. However, our crosion control program calls for work in many sites of this character. This is without question the best turf-forming Lotus we have indigenous to our territory. oO -*Vicia exigua is ative perennial Vetch which closely re- sembles in heobit V. eae cine. It, however, grows in much drier sites at lower altitudes. It has beon reported from the Baboquivari Moun- tains, the Coyote Mountains, from Sycamore Canyon and from the moun=- tains south of Ruby, Arizona. These are all in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties, Arizona. This plant should prove of greater value for siden control than V. puxchella aes of its greater drought sistance. In genoral Apocarancee it is strikingly like that species. thore are doubtless other wild ae some of which may vrove to be worth investigating. Some are annuals One curious vetch, with very narrow lcaves, V. sparsiflora, occurs in the mountains about Alpine, Arizona. Indigofera syhaerocarpa, Indigo Bush, is a leguminous shrub, slightly resembling Amozpha and liko it, having very short pods. In our range it is confined to southorn New Moxico and sovthern Arizona. In the mountains west of Animas, New Moxico, it attains @ height of throe or four fect, grows in quite diy, rocky bottoms and on rocky slopes, and is quite heavily grazed... It is never in dense cnough stands to constitute a good soil binder. (°Correction: This should follow discussion V. pulchella, p.96.} eole PAPILIONACEAL Psoralia micrantha is a low, extremely glandular weedy herb with long rhizomatous perennial roots which occupies beds of almost pure sand. It is not eine in sites of this kind in the south- ern part of the Rocky Mountains from western Texas probably to California, The plant is ne low to constitute a windbreak of im- portance. However, it is an excellent soil binder and probably could be used to advantage in stabilizing sand dunes. It is, how- ever, quite ae ec i in fact, it has been suspected of being poisonous and as a ee: cannot be recomnended for revegetation work until it has fe givon a clear bill of health. There are several other Psoralias in the West which aro simi- lar in growth habits to Psoralis micrantha. Nost of them,however, arc useless or nearly so for orosion control work and are relupt ete Hor forages. One Psoralia of a distinctly different type as 2. esculenta, which is a low, somewhat spreading perennial with a large tuberous root which was forr 1erly used extensively by the Indians for food. This is confincd in its natural distribution to southern Arizone, southern New Mexico and western Texas. Since its spreading hebit makes it a fair soil binder, its acquaintance should be courted in nursery practice. Amorpha occidentalis and close relatives, are frequent but not abuncant throusiouc “the west. They are sometimes called Indigo DUSNESs paces from the Black Range in New Mexico are frequently large snrubs or small trees. To date we have not tried the Amorphas Invemy Gf our ee in the southwest but revorts given at the Colorado Springs Conference regarding the use of this group in iepions Six, Seven and Nine are so favorable that nursery plantings will be tricd at a couple of the nurseries. in Region Bight from seed collected in the Black Range. The fruits and leaves of this plant have an odor similer to. that on erole lifolie, a~decoctiom oF which is used by the Hopis to repel bed bugs, If, as is reported, Amorpha is resistant to Jackrabbit and insect (including grasshoppers) c se ' Oo attack, poe it not be tested for substances which may prove use- ful in map's fight to the finish with the insect world? The Amorphas produce secd in abundance and production in the nursery will doubtless prove casye *Kiysonherdtia orthocarpe, Kidneywood, is a shrub or small tree a ee ¥ confined in ovr territory to oxtrome southern Now Mexico and Arizonae” It, however, extends far south in Mexico and is widely distributed in the Tronics. It is a lesuminous tree with spikes of small white flowers, very short pods and pinnate leaves. It is one of the finest browse shrubs in the southwest and since it grows on dry, rocky sites it is a worthwhike erosion control plant. If you will refer to standley's Trees and Shrubs of Mexico you will see that the account PAPILIONACEAL of the uses of this plant reads like a fairy tale. It has been usea for all sorts of medicinal purposey. The wood has been turned | into many small articles, such as spindles and bricea-brac. It gives weter in which it has been soaked a peculiar iridescence. Galactea wrightii is a pea vine with grayish, somewhat silvery Leal 10t8 ; and heavy Woody root and very numerous stems The leaves are trifoliate; the pods are rather long and narrow aid quite hairy. 1 is an excellent ground cover and erosion control plant and prob= i hough this has not been established. . It is ably is good forage alt founc in considerable abundance in extreme southern Arizona, espec= ially in the foothills of the Ba Cenc Mountains and in Sycamore Canyon. It is very drought resistent but not suitable for alkali tands This is a specics well worthy of extensive trials in the nug= sery and observational plots. . Se This genus includos some of our most lost of them are 5 ha eee plants lie bd LGpuri “a4 Jnfnosrrtr rads mma with heavy woody crowns. sea is a low shrub (frequently owing to direct action cs, very low) with dark green small leaflets and f purple fiowerse. It is not infrequently used as an orname coe Its natural range is confined to tho mountains of western Texas and southern New Mexico and Arizone. It is usua Ay not sufficientiy abundant to be considered of any great value on the range ne however, it is quite abundant in S On a1: © used in our ORO ea work with the thought cvor in mind that a grass rango without browse plants Ne MGVer i) OOod Tenres *Doalea frut s is similar im habit to Db, formosa but is a lower, more spi It is found in abundance in the region of ico and in the canyons of the Guada= lupe kiountains, New Mexico and Texase Its habit of forming low preading clumps on the slopes end in the dry bottoms mke it an re) es ent soil bindors Jt 4s comparable in forage value -to BD, Pormosae ; is similar in habit to the last two teller and more widely spreading plants. to oxtrome southwestern ranges such as the Baboqui= Veumus eat ee TAMGa, Gt cols sara TANG ent mountains. What hes been djac said or the last two species applies equally well to this one. A *Dalea spe -' remarkable Dalea was recently found in the foothills south of the eee Hountains of southern New Mexico and adjacent Texes. it is often more heavily browsed than other species mentioned and forms much larger denser clumps. It has a widely spreading crown and a single plant frequently covers several square feet. The root system seems to be superior to other species discussed for the control of erosion. The leaflets are somewhat silvery and the flowers are rose colored.- It is probable that this species is eithor one knovm previously only from Mexico, or one that has not been described, It seems to be one of our most promising plants for orosion control purposes. Dalea spinosa. Wi er en a ee ithin our range this is the only spe¢itesvor Dalea which becomes a tree. Its range is. southwestern Arizona and jacent southern Neyada, southern California and adjacent Mexico. Common throughout the southwest it is mown as the smoke tree, and when in blossom is one of the most striking plants of the des are ! being a solid mass of dark blue blossoms. The stems and twigs ere almost leafless but are themselves green witha grayish tinte, The density of thesc ed green twigs on the plant give ita dis- tinet resemblance to smoke ae a Cee This plant requires-a tle e ess unsuited for other sections of the country than those in which it grows naturally. It should be gencrelly used in the dry southwest as an ornamental. Dalea emoryi is another Dalea occupying extremely dry hot regions such as those about Yuma. It is a low straggling bush with beautiful flowers and extremely glandular leaves, stems and flower clusters. The oil or resin from ; Indians as ea dye and this use su plant may +h 1 ests the Noe cue ice the i > froma one Cc oe ae or commercial oil standpoint. Owing t this shrub is not likely to gain a place istinctly erosion con= trol program. One very curious fact regarding this plart in-the the attack Sar 9 nS eae 5 aeanmete Tate Ee ee region of fuma is worth mentioning. b very curious varositie Plowerime plent, P21 cylis. Frequently tems are almost completely covered with this parasite, an in= ual plant of which is very little larger than the head of an ry ping It consists almost entirely of the flowers. Superia= y the perasitized Dalea looks as though it hes been attacked funcus discase or by a type of gall=forming insects This eae ee is closely related to a flowering plant im the: tropies ] ich produces the largest flower known to science, freq two at or three feot across and is exceptionelly beautiful. Im this case also, practically the entire plant consists of the blossoms Dalen polygodenian in gencral habit resembles D, emoryi but Ses Le it is a smaller more noarly prostrate bush. Tho glan- ter of this plant suggests its use for dyc and oils ime it is confined to the extremc desert scetions 5 Novada and adjacent Californias aoe x to site end climate requirements i, PAPILIONACHAL Dalea de eget is a straggling open bush often three or four fect high with very few narrow lenflots. The entire bush has a grayish sreen color similar to that of the smoke trec but the bush is for less compact and the branches more tortuous. It has rather long spikes of intensely blue flowers which make the bush very showy during the time of blossoming. This specics is confined to the extremely dry desert rogions of southern Utah and adjacent Novada and Ccliforniae It is too open to be of much value as an crosion control plont, and it docs not secm to be browsed. It is possible, however, that the glanduler leaves, stems and flower clusters may yiold a vealunblo oil or dyc, and the plant should be worthy of consideration as an ornamental in desert gardens. Dalen amoena is a species closely rolated to D. johnsonii. It, however, is a smaller bush and has much sm ller flower clusters. Its ronge is southern Utah and ae accent northern Arizona. What has been said of De. johnsonii is cqually true of this species. Dalca wrightii is a low spreading herb with oa large woody roots The leaves are silvery cray ond tho plant for the most part is pros- neerly soe Commonly the growth is sparce on the range, possibiy duc to over-grazinge It occurs on the dry rocky slopes and hilltops of southern Arizon:. and southern New liexico. Owing to its woody, much divided caudex and its prostrate habit, it would make an excellent eeu contre] plant ir it could be obtained in adee quate stands. This probably should be considered a browse plant though it can hardly be theught of as a shrub. Palco pogonanthera is a plant resembling superficially the tiscussed. This one, however, is commonly orect, and or that reason may not be as good an eresion control plant. -How- s one of the important browse plants in certain sections thills of the Santa Rita and Baboquivari Mountains, Its nee is southern New iexico and southern Arizona. This plant should be given a careful trial in the nursery and in observa=- Dalea parryi is a low suffrutescent perennial with widely spreading branonese it grows in extreme southern Arizona and adja= cent Mexico On the west slope of the Baboquivari Mountains it forms le pert of the ground cover in small areas and constitue- tes a fair soil binder. A plant growing in the nursery at Tucson & beautiful, wide=spreading plant with an abundance of olue flowers and seed pods. Hothing is known at present palatability but otherwise i plant of promise for s : an apprecia Boe ec abouts i + ct é ul PAPILTONACEAE Petalostemon albiflorum, Prairie Clover, is a perennial legume with woody root and caudex and tough, wiry stems. In general appearance it resembles a Dalca but the heads of flowers are very compact and the leaves and stems less glandular than most of the Dalease Its range is very wide in the Rocky Mountains and the west generally. Commonly it is considered rather unpalatable but in certain quarters of New Mexico and Arizona it seems to be quite heavily browsed, cspecially by sheep and goats. It is doubtful whether the plant can be made to grow in sufficient abundance to constitute a real agent in controlling erosion. However, it fre= quently occurs naturally in some ahundancec. Tephrosia spp. Thore aro several specics of Tephrosia in extreme southern Arizona and in New Moxicoe An eastern species, gid A is cultivated for the rotenono content of its roots. Thus far the southwestern species have not shown sufficient rotenone content to be of commercial significance. Most of them are rather low in forage value but probably constitute fair erosion control agents. J. “tenella is one of the best species from this standpoint as it forms widely spreading clumps on loose rocky slopes. It is particularly abundant in the Baboquivari Mountains where it grows to be perhaps two feet in height and produces immense quantities of pods and small beans. J+ is probable that it is a significant bird food plant. *Bonthamantha edwardsii has been frequently mistaken for Tephrosia in the southwest. The long slender pods closely resemble those of T, tenella except that the pod has a peculiar cross-lined appearances The plant itself is low and hes silvery leaflets. It forms pure stands in rather sandy dry bottoms whore the grazing is not too severe. It seems to be quite heavily browsed. Because of the rhizomatous charecter of the roots and the fact that it forms a dense carpet on the ground, it should be tried in the nursery and in observational work, Alhagi genetonm, the Camel Thorn, was introduced into the United States from Asia Minor in pomparatévely recent yearse, he State of California ie spent large sums in an attempt to cradicate ite The plant has been introduced into several parts of New Mexico and Arizonae North of Albuquerque it has become well established on sandy bottom land and has become a very distinct pest because of its persistence in cultivated lends. It has long slender hori- zontal roots which sprout and which are very difficult to thoroughly eradicate. The tops are slender and quite thorny. While this plant is considered a distinct pest at the present time, it has its good points, and like the Russian Thistle, may sometime be considered a godsend in certain sections of the country. It is also relatively 220s PAPILIONACEAE drought resistant and in spite of many reports to the contrary, it is fairly good forage. Horses and mules particularly, give no evi- dence that they object to the thorny character of the plant and eat it with avidity. Cne farmer near Joseph City, Arizona, showed a large area of this:to one of our seed collectors and went to some length to exslain what a wonderful plant it was as a stock food. He did not know the plant or surmise that thousands of dollars were being spont to oradicate it in California. At. the present time its use is not to be advocated even under rostricted conditions. Peteria scoparia is a leguminous plant with the habit very much lilie that of the camcl thorn, i+ is nowhere abundant, being roported only from castcrn Now :oxico and adjacent territory, and recently from the Potrit: iced Forest in Arizona. It is not impossible CG that with 2 little human cncouresoment it misht be of value as a Coursetia glandulosa is a tall shrub with abundant white to yellowish on flowers and rathcr small pinnate leaves. It is use ually found growing in dense slumps This is ee ng in our range to canyons and dry rocky slopes in Sonne Arizona at altitudes of »,000=0,000 Tcot. fC isa foir orosion eontra. nee is quite heavily browsed and can be grown readily in the nursery from cuttings. r —_— Robinia pseudo-acacia, the common Black Locust, is not native in our rogion but nas pecn oxtens3 ively introduced in all but the ware mest sections. Formerly it was used for woodlots end shade trees in castern New licxico, mor ively than at present although the species is still used for Bieri plantings in most of the towns and- citicse The ‘ pidegrowing whcre water is available, very drought resistant and not subject to diseases. Tho borer, however, damages tho ee scriously and frequently discourages ranchors ce gradually ropiac from planting this speeics. Special strains «a lg the more comnuon tyocse. The Shipmast Locu ear ir t st is one of thesds It has not come into use in Region 8 but is being used in Soil Conservation Service work in the cast quite cx Cc tensively. The Hill} culturo Section of the Soil Conservation Sorvice has done- special worl with tho Black Locust. At prosont it is having rom&rkable success in growing locust ha ardvood cuttings after trosting them with growth hermonese This method should make the propagetion of desir= able sclocuions casyv,. dosis fed that the same or 2 similar treat= mont ¢an be applicd to propageting other trees and shrubs nes xobinia neo-mexicana, Now Hoxico Black Locust. This smell, very thorny tree is not uncommon in the mountains in the southwost. Frequently north-facins slopes havo almost puro stands, This is true on the mounteins north of Raton, New Mexico; on the north sade of Rose Peak on the Coronado Trail, Arizona: sandithc) silopesmos Oe PAPILIONACEAE Baldy in the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona. Usually, however, it is an undershrub, e? Son Suey, annoying to the one who wanders off the mountain trail. Because of a horizontal root system and a ten-= dency to sprout, it has a distinct erosion control value. The seeds are rather expensive to collect because the trees are too thorny to climb, too tall to permit picking pods from the ground, and after the pods are ripe striking them with a stock seatters the seeds in all ciroctions. The seeds and young plants are not dif= ficult to handle in the nursery. The young plants furnish good forage (not poisonous). The flower clustors are choice morsels, being ee raw even by the Incians. Thornless forms of this spec- ies probe ee Goes a a hee ae any such form to the Nursery Sece- geen tesota, Ironwood, should be considered along with. the paloverdées. it is commonly Said that where it crows Citrus fruit will grow. It may well be considered the most nobie tree of the desert,- everpreen, symmetrical, long-lived, extremely drought resis= tant. Its wood is dark, hard, very heavy and burns like a high- grade coal. WMornal years the beans are produced in abundance. These have been used extensively for food by the Indians. *Parryella filifoliae Dune groom. This plant is common ‘in northern Arizona and northorn New Mexico in the dry sand=-blown re- gions. It is one of our best sand binders, Many of the plants in which we become intcrested prove uscioss because they do not respond to nursery practice or the secd are too expensive to collects. This plant, howover, produccs seed in abundence. These soruae readily 3 ond eee are easily produced even at Tucson pieaea is 2,000 or 5,008 fect lower altitude than that in which the plant nome: CYOWSe it When plants are talen up the small roots Seats eae promptly sprout. The Hopi Indians claim that they use a decoction of this plant to drive out bed bugs. For this reason we had Dr. Sievers of the Food & Urug Office, United States Department of Agriculture, t icida. opertiese it was learned that while it ies, its value was low. It is highly pro- ed Paroselas contain oils which may “prove of economic importance. Among the Paroselas rich in oils and possibly dyes are Parosela scoparia, Pe. emoryi, P. johnsoni, ry mene eee ee eee ee One eee oe and i e spinosa e cee Se ee, @) ie) Gt a ct ”n ry 1] (®) (ey ct (A) t =i Q fe) Brythr inc occasionaliy a small tree with large hea abundant curved spines and long, scarlet to warm camyons and foothills in our extre but extends far south into Mexico. Other members of this gonus are mM, eC highly prized as ornamentals in the Tropics. This shrub is tender, Plabelliformis, “lestern Coral Bean, is a shrub or © shaped grayish leaves, owerse It is confined 1 me southwestern ranges ~9l- PAPILIONACHAE very frequently freezing back to the ground during the winter. It has possibilities as an ornamental but has very little value for erosion control and none as forage. The large, red, very hard seeds are poisonouse Phaseolus sppe Beans. There are several true beans in the southwest. come of them are perennials end are among the most pro-= mising of our legumes. Like most other plants they have definite requirements as to site and altitude and probably soil, *P, metcalfii, Metcalf Bean, is a vine with a very large woody root and numerous prostrate stems. It has trifoliate leaves of rather large size which makes the plant quite conspicuouse Many years ago this plant wes successfully cultivated by Dr. Metcalf at Silver City, 1 New Mexico. He found it to be verr satisfactory as @ stock rood but strance to a this lcad was never consistently fol- lowed vp and nothing worthy of s been donc with the plant, it produces rether large ane and large beans, which are palatable to stock. This plant is found enowate on rather loose soil on steep slopes and recently made road grades. It frequently forms almost a solid ground cover and while the stems do not root, the prostrate vines prevent erosion quite co supe It is not at all improb= able that this plont with proper selection and possibly proper breed= ing could be made not only ee sue as an erosion control and forag plant, but even for the production of very palatable boans for < K H 2. ct Le; = ey oO 1 human consumptione nd P, retusus for our discussion here can well é He netealfiie They are very sinilar an growth habits and While these three species seen Ke be limited in their natura nee to central and southern New Mexico rand 27.07 improbable that they can be used far beyond t These beans are not suitable for uso in alkali aly dry situations. *P,. dilatatus is a very vromising vine bean with large woody root found in our ranze only in southern New Mexico and southern Arizorae It is a much smaller vlant than the Metcalf bean but E forms a good ground cover and is effective in controlling erosion on dry steer slopes. it is usually found, however, on partially wooded or north-facing slopes. It can be distinguished from he Netealf bean by its lobed and smaller leaflets contrasted with the ss | n . - cal entire and large leaflets of the ifetcal] nD *P, macropoices closely resembles P. dilatatucs. It has a large woody root ane frows in comparable sites. — “In the southwest it seoms to bo more abundent but is confined to our extreme south= western ranges. Like the last, it forms excellent ground coversed rather dry rocky slopcos.s ’) PAPILIONACEAE There are doubtless others of the true beans which are worthy ~ of some attention. For example, P. acutifolius, a bean with tri- foliate but very narrow lobed leaves, looks promising. Also P, angustissimus, another one with narrow lobed leaves which is a trailer or twiner. These beans should first be raised in the nur- sery and if they prove promising, tried in our observational plant- ingSe In no case should we overlook the role of legumes in our program of revegetating the rangee *Rhynchosia texana. This plant resembles a true bean in its vinelike character. It has rather small trifoliate leaves and very numerous stems from a woody spreading root system. In many places in draws, swales and canyons in the southwest it forms a consider- able part of the vegotation and is an active erosion control agent. t is apparently somewhat less palatable than the true beans. From the standpoint of legumes, however, this is one of our most promis=- In&e Nissolia schottii is a true climber with woody perennial root but herbaceous top. Frequently in warm sites, however, the stems become verennial, only tho leaves dying in the winter. In many parts of its range it freezes to the ground each wihter but makes a vigorous growth during the summer. It is a delicate, beautiful vine suitable for use as an ornamental on trollises. While this is a legume, the pods form a samara similar to those on the maple or ash, and the vine can readily be distinguished in fruit by these pods. This vine is confined in our range to southern Arizona but probably will survive much more severe winters than those of regions where it occurse It can be used as an ornamental, as a windbreak, on trel= lises or in the absence of something on which it can climb, @s a spreading vine or erosion control in draws and on deep slopes. Aeschynomene virginica, or a very close relative, was recently found in southern Rr izar , end Sycamore Canyon. This is a plant which closely resembles the eee pea and is sometimes called sensitive joint vetch. The interesting feature of the plant in that region is the abundance of nodules on the roots. In this respect it is more outstanding than most peas, indicating its possible use as a nitro- gen fixer. It is not sufficiently abundant in southern Arizona to be of significance at present but it should be tried in the nur- sery because of its possible use as a nitrogen soil vitalizer. Clitoria mariana, the Butterfly Pea, which is not uncommon in the woody sections of the East has been reported from Santa Cruz County, Arizonae In that section it grows on drv rocky or semi- timber slopes and in places is quite abundant. It is a low peren=- nial bush bean, the tops of which have a slight tendency to become vine-like. Its pods are rather short and thick and.are quite sweet, PAPILIONACHAE Apparently the plant, judging from its condition where found, is e highly palatable. Its root system and its abundance in the site where found suggest it as an excellent erosion control plart. It should be mentioned also that it has been used as an ornamental, and the seed of it is probably available from seed houses in the Baste It is possible, however, and even probable, that our southwestern plant is eioher a different species or a remerkable drought resistant straine Astragalus sppe, Milk Vetches. This genus is a Dr. Jekyl and MY e Hyd@e Several species are excellent forage and good or fair erosion control plants, besides being legumes which build up the nitrogen content of the soil. Many others are weeds, some of them locos of the worst type. In recent years much study has been given to the element Selenium. First it was studied because of its pecue liar electrical properties, a study of which led to the invention of the Selenium cell, the lightedirected torpedo and similar devices. The element was suggested for use as an insecticide and as such proved very effective but it was soon learned that it was readily absorbed by plants and that it rendered fruits and grains poisonous to stock and to man. For a time it was used as a depilatory but it was soon learned that the hair disappeared from the crown of the head as well as from the arm pitse But what has this to do with Astrogalus? Only this: Some specics of Astragalus, and some other plants as well, absorb selenium from soils containing it in the in- organic form and upon decaying, return it to the soil in organic form, in which condition it is readily absorbed by many plants which are unable to absorb it in the inorganic form. Thus many plants palatable to stock are rendered poisonous. Fortunately not all soils contain selenium in sufficient quantities to produce serious results. It is highly probable that some of the poisoning ascribed to loco in the past has really been due to the selenium in the Astragali or to that passed on by them to other plants. It can be seen by this that the Astragali must be investigated thoroughly bofore they are recom- mended for use for crosion control or as forage. * At least two Astragali have recently come into prominence not only as forage end erosion control plants but as crops. These two, Ae rubyi and A, mortoni, have not been given adequate trial in our regicn to pect enon ton regarding their value. Several species Onobrychis, legumes similar to Astragalus, have been intro-= duced from Asia Minor and are being grown at the nursery at Tucson. Before these can be planted on the range feeding experiments will need to be conducted to meee ae Xheir palatability, their relation to the selenium of the soil and of first importance, whether they are locos or note. Among the Astragali in the southwest which look promising for forage and erosion control are A. lonchocarpus and Ay nuttallianus. —— = ee yh) ~4e | PAPILIOWACBAE . Both of these are good erosion control plants which form a good ground cover and are frequently heavily browsed. Before they can be recommended for range usc, however, it will be necessary to learn @ ° more about their properties in relation to alkaloids and selenium. Aragallus sppe, Locos. This genus contains some of our most a serious locos. In some regions, particularly within National Forests eradication campaigns have boon attempted. It is probable that the L a 1 best control, rowever, is careful range usce An abundance of Aragol lug is an almost cortain indication of overgrazing and range abusce Lathyrus decaphyilus, Wild Poa, is closcly rclated to our native eee SS often abundant in erowid that has been dis- turbed either through road building or by floods. In northern New Mexico, particularly in the resion of Wagon Mound, New Mexico, Canyon Padre, Arizona, and in Zion ational Park in Utah, it forms quite dense plants with abundant poronnial rhizomatous rootse It has handsome blue flowors and ratner narrow leaflets. For situa= tions in which it will grow, mainly those on freshly made road : likely to be considerable ero= mc am placcs wnere sion from Flood water, this plan Olant makes an ideal crosion control plant. It also has oa value for forage. a plant closcly allied to L. decaphyllus. es 4 s — In the southw ice ce . relatively scarce and apparontly - is suited only to considerably higher altitudes and more shady places. sathyrus americanus is widely distributed in the west at rela= tively arse altitudes and in timber or shady situations. It is an execllont forage plant and whore sufficiently abundant is an active crosion control agont, being a pcrennial with widely spreading roote tao] stocks. Its use in orosion control practices is distinctly limited pccouso of its altitude and soil requiremonts. athyrus grominifolius is another species found at relatively low PEs onCee re in ‘Sonte Cruz County, Arizona. Judging from its dis= tribution and relative scarcity, it is probable that it will be of little value for crosion control or for forage. Owing to its habit, however, and abundent foliage, it will be growm in the nurseries 4 and if promising results are obtained, will be tried in observation= al plantings. *Vicia pulchella is one of our most promising porennial vetchess It is Pincccecs on the slopes and in draws in the lower yellow pine b , or rathor upright plants are available for attachment, this plont is a climber. Commonly, howover, it trails on tho ground. ab of 3 oS belt of our mountain ranges in contral New Mexico and Arizona. Wheng -95- F' a nm } | Scien | Grn . 4 yi ee per fe = F ; : oe 7 4 wy \ . 1 oes * 7 ‘i \ n . ) { I : ‘ D 5 ” PAPILIONACHAL Each root produces numerous long, lax stems with abundant leaves. It has short spiles of white flowers. Its spreading habit and per- ennial roots make it a desirable erosion control plant. It must also be considered excellent for forage end wildlife. it produces an ebundance of small peas, Desnanthus illinoiensis is not uncommon as a weed in some parts of the southwest. In zg it closely resembles wild licorice (Glyeyrrhiza lepitoda), forming as it does dense stands of erect Se er nce eee rootse It, however, has clusters of smooth curved pods instead of the burs produced by the licorice. The leaves of D. illinoicnsis are very fine and are bipinnatec. No Cement eee re tee nae semen y work has been done to prove the value of this plant for erosion control. it doubtless requires sites which receive some overflow during the summer but the root system is excellent and the fact that the plant is a. weed, though not a bad one, should not preelude its use at least on some cemonstration areas. It produces an abunaance of small peas which suggest it for wildlife. Its forage valuc is lowe *Desmonthus jamesii is a smell, almost prostrate plant with = me ete ee a et amen ’ a woody base and fine bininnate an it has clusters of rather d a long, somewhat curved pods anc on very dry, rocky sites in the foothills in the southwest. ET forage and doubtless excel- lent for wildlife, such as quail. oe. nae os a oe if not careful, to confuse thi: t 1 "FANTOAY i a oe VE aaa ane nowever , Shespe tale “apm gnlksy rahiabien Dive tac tatte 3 rs Oo a2 Late an 8) Flowers aes very long exserted stamens contrasted he selena flowers with rather short stamens of D. jamesii. Seas piste virgatun Was discovered recently in southern fe) A . Fits SE i a 5 Nh 5 Arizona it doubtless is uncommon in not northern en Th eeneral habit that from southern Arizona resembles D. illingiensis but is much teller, often being Tour or five feet high and much more showy. The svecimen from southern New Mexico grew in a very dry site and was almost decumbent. The bi- ew 1 pinnate leaves are large in cutline but the leaflets are vory small, It has a good root system, evidently is eaten by stock and ust. sunply abur or bird food. It mai prove to be a worthwhile plant © in worm situations. 7) aa | WL A OTA GHRA J \CHA *Erodiun cloutarium, Aifilaree, is an exotic which has become thorouguly netural: ized and has made a very desirable citizen. It has spread into outeofethe-way places almost throughout the south- west and when there is a reasonable amount of rainfall during the winter it produces abundant forage. Two or three other species of GERANIACEAE Erodium have been introduced into this country and we have one native onee All of these are inferior to E, cicuterium It is worthy of a re ee ee me note that Ie texanum, our common native species, is frequently ate tacked by what appears to be an erinose mite, or at any rate by an organizm which makes maple leavese HE. cicutariwn secms to be free this trouble. > of ZYGOPHYLLACHAL Choisya dumosa, Starleaf, is a low sees growing in protected places in canyons and on steep ee in west Texas, southern New Bete and southern Arizona and extending into Mexico, It has incly divided remarkable gisndular leaves and fragrant white flow- ers cavable of perfuming whole canvons, The bushes are rather tcne- der and difficult to propagate. They arc suited for erosion control work in partially shaded north-facing slopes. They should be excel- lent ornementals, particularly in shaded rock gardens. Studics — should be made of the cil and resin content of the foliage. ns DE ’ SNac Thamnosme montana is a very curious, nearlv leafless s with green, extremely glanduler stems and purple flowers. It is not uncommon in the foothills of the southwest. Since it has a foul odor and is so extremely glandular, it may contain valuable oils or resins. Nothing larger than a bug will condescend to eat it and it is of no value for erosion control. Thamnosma texanea, s smaller plant and less offe: 2. It has a more limited range, being coniined in this country e western Texas and southern New Mexico and Arizona, It is valueless for forage and practically so for ero= Sion control. htly resembles qT. montana but is s much © PLClLen Urarolracua, hae ae is a shrub very widely elses ee eee sei cet ll the west and southwest The neme, P, trifoliate covers a great variety of forms and it is probable that if should be poneieren two or more distinct specics. YThese shrubs are frequently abundant on north-facing slopes and in canyons. In no place, however, can they be considered of distinct value for erosion control. They should be interesting additions, however, to shrub arboreta and for ornanontals in yards. The trifoliate leaves are rather foul-smel- ling and the fruits have wide wings somewhat similar to those on the Elm. The plants are not palatable to livestock. Larrea tridentata or Creosote Bush is one of the most common shrubs in the southwest from western Texas to southern Utah, Nevada and Californias. It extends also into Mexico. % oceupies hundreds of square miles in almost pure stands today where it was only scat- tering fifty years ago. This is commonly the result of overgrazinge ZYGOPHYLLACEAE ‘The Creosote Bush is unpalatable and a very poor erosion control plant.The leaves of the plant have been used medicinally Py) the Indians and attempts have been made in the past to commercialize it as a medicinal plant. The leaves are rich in resins and oils and attempts to analyze it by destructive distillation have result- ed in rather serious poisoning to the men conducting the work. If the plant were less common it would be highly vrized as an orna- mental as the leaves are dark, shiny green and the flowers are a showy yellow. One of the pleasant memorics for the traveler in the southwest is the odor of creosote after a shower. Peganum harmulum, African nue, is a low spreading shrub with an abundance of ‘fleshy | narrow green leaves which are unpalatable to livestock, The plant was introduced from Asia into the valley cast of Deming, New Mexico some yoars ago and has spread over considerable aroa since that time. it has a root system which grows a fraction of the distance between here and China. It seems likely that the plant is one which should be cradicated. In valleys of the type of that around Deming it is a serious competitor of the more palatable shrubs such as Chamiza, and it seems likely that the extremely deeply- bedded roots will ceventua rey. cause a sorious depletion of the lower ground wator. The plant has practically no superficial roots and ror that roason is not an ideal erosion control plant and since it is unpalatable and seems to bo an ideal pest, not only should it not be distributed but it should be eradicated if possible. SIMARUBACEAE Holacantha emoryi, one of our Crucifixion Thorns, is one to , which the term scems most applicablo. The bushes or small trees are not oniy all thorns but the thorns are stiff end voint in all directions. In the United States it is confined to a small portion of Maricopa, Pima end Pinal Counties in Arizona. It has been reported doubtfully from Mexico, Thovgh it is usually a small tree with a distinct trunk-it frequently forms thickets which collect wind-blown dirt end tend to form dumes. These are usually a harbor for some plants which do not thrive under our intensive civilization with its ettendant land abuse. It is of little value as an erosion control plant. Ailanthus glandulosa or Tree of Heaven, is an exotic from China which has been planted practically all over the United States. The fact that it produces wood unsuited for use as posts, lumber or even firewood, and sometimes becomes a weed, has put this tree in an unfavorable light with most of the Soil Conservation peoplé, The tree, however, has its favorable points, among them drought hoe eee. ability to’ seed itself in an area and form thickets which are good soil binders and which supply abundant shade for Sele fa an vue) as ba } ad 1 a ao ol { ry ?, bd ie i " Sony ag Pa , i *\ i 1a ' j ‘ \ 0 5 ITMARUBACEAE stock; and ability to withstand severe abuse, The Tree of Heavon has been planted along the highway in castern Oregon as an orna- mental with complete success and it is used as an ornamental shade tree along city streets. Thus far it has been used to a very limited extent, if at all, in erosion control work in tne southwest. BUPSERACEAL Elaphr ium microphyllum, Llephant Tree. In the early days of the Spanish invasion of the southwest this small tree supplied vast quantities of bark which was shipped to Spain for its tannin. The tree is much more abundant in Sonora than it is in Arizona. In the hills southeast of Yume, along the Mexican border, however, this curious tree is rather abundant. It resembles a pepper tree except that the compound leaves are very small and the fruits are borne Singly on the twigs instead of in long panicles. The trees are low and squatty with trunks which are very thick at the base and which taper abruptly upward. ne small fruits and leaves are very glandular and quite fragrant with a pungent odor. When and if our activitics spread into the hot regions south of the Gila, this tree should occupy a place in our program. Wherever it grows oranges and probably avocados will grow if given water. 1 ae POLYGALACEAE Polygala sppe, Milkworts. Most of the Polygalas are of no significance sance for ‘forage or for crosion control. Some are annuals with eae eet as ornamentals in cultivation. One, F. polycladon, is a rather abundant shrub in the region of Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona, but it is very thorny and apparently not browsed. fF. rusbyi is a low perennial with a deep root and very short, somewhat spre: eading woody caudex which has handsome creamy, pinkish purple flowers rather large for a Polygala. This might be a good erosion control plant if it crew abundantly enough. Jt is a rare plant found on the flats between Kingman and Seligman in Arizona, and doubtless else- where. P. macradenia, however, is an important browse shrub which has-a rath See, eon in northwestern Arizona and adjacent regions, and in. the Santa Rita region of southern Arizona. It is @ deep-rooted, very low shrub with spreading caudex, small leaves and purplish flowers. At the base of the Kofa Mountains it is abundant and is always browsed very close by mountain sheep. Professor Thornber reports it to be a good browse plant in the vanta Ritas. This plant has not been grown in the nurseries and nothing -is known of its propagation possibilities. EUPHORBIACEAE Dernardia myricaefolia is a shrub three to five feet high with small, thick grayish leaves with irregular dentate margins and -99- EUPHORBIACEAE inconspicuous flowers. It is ebundant in extreme southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, southern California and ifexico, in low rocky foothills where the temperature in the summer becomes very high. Though it is a good erosion control plant where it grows naturally, it probably is not well adapted to nursery practices and its range is very limited. Its forage vaiue is low. Ditaxis sericophylla is a low shrub with narrow gray, silky leaves and similar gray silky stems. It grows only in the extremely dry, hot low ranges of southwestern Arizona and adjacent Sonorae As an erosion control plant it can never be considered unless reve- getation work is undertaken in these extreme desert sections. It is an erosion control plant and is relished by mountain sheep. Acalypha pringlei is a very tender shrub confined to Pima and Yuma counties in Arizona and adjacent Mexico in extromely dry situations. In the nursery at Tucson it makes a handsome shrub but without protection freezes to the ground in the winter. It is suitable only for an ornamental at present but at such time as our work is extended into the Phoenix and Yuma regions it may have its place. Sapium biloculare is abundant in southern Pima County, Arizona and is widely distributed in Mexico. It is a tall shrub with nar- row leaves and milky juice which has been used medicinally for probably hundreds of years. It is visciously poisonous. The leaves are used by the Indians for stupefying fish. The milky juice gotten into ae eyes even in the minutest quantity, as by rubbing the eyes after handling the plant, causes extreme pain for hourse It is not improbable that this plant will be found to have commer- cial importance when its latex is studied carefully. Ricinus communis, or Vastor Rean, is an introduction into all the warmer portions of the United States In many places it is raised as an annual ornamental because of ee! rapid growth and showy leaves and flowers. Attempts have been made to raise it ead in this country but without success, probably because f high cost of labor here. It is unsuited for use for anything except an ornamental. Manihot angustiloba may be considered a rare plant in the United States, Gccurring only in a very limited area in Pima and Santa GSruz Counties in Arizona. It is probable that it will never become an erosion control plant of significance but the great im= portance of this plant and its near relative, M. esculenta in the Tropics for the production of cassava and starch, male it worthy of mention. In Arizona it grows as a perennial herb in extremely _ rocky sitese The growing tubers vush their way into all sorts of -100= —_ — + =v | - _ . ' . , ; - 4 7 r 1S) mh A ate ' «| i A Ma EUPHORBIACEAE crannies and cracks and are very effective in opening up the rocks. While this plant may not, or may be important in erosion control in warm parts of Arizona, it is worthy of careful experimental work as a crop not only for Indians but for whites as well. Jatropha cardiophylla occurs only in Arizona within the Uni- ted States but is common in Sonora. It is a low, very tender shrub likely to freeze to the ground in winter even in the foothills about Tucsone The loavos are rather small and heart-shaped and the stems peculiarly pliablo, giving one the impression. of being rubbery. The plant grows in the criest, rockiest of sites. It is never eaten and has little value as an erosion control plant but the dried roots, according to Standley, contain much tannic acid, thus suggesting the use of the shrub as a commercial crop in the extreme desert regions of Arizona. It has long been used for tanning and probably for dye. Owing to the color of the juice the plant has been called Sangre de Cristo. Jatropha spathulata is a tall shrub somewhat resembling in 7_ habit the Gapium described above. It occurs in western Texas and ~ southwestern Arizona and far south into Mexico in the driest, rocke- lest of sites. It will withstand very little frost. As an erosion control plant it is probably of little value but owing to the various uses to which it has been put in the past it is possible that it may prove of value as a commercial crop in regions which produce curious things but which take their own sweet time in which to do it. It is almost a foregone conclusion that crops cannot be grown in regions of two to five inches of rainfall and harvested every year. It is not evident, however, that valuable crops such as tannin, dyes, alkaloids, guns and resins cannot be harvestcd every five or ton years.and the plants not oxploited to the point of extermination. Weeds and diseases are not troublesome in the desert and frequent cultivation is hardly desirable. All that is necessary is to give God and the desert a chance. The branches of this plant have been used in basketry and the bark was formerly exported from Mexico for tannin and for a dye. The plant has been used medicinally for everything from toothache to syphilis. It is highly probable that the chicf product worthy of investigation is the tannin. Jatropha angustidens, Mala mujer, is not reported by Standley AS ocourr ing in Arizona. It is, however, very common in Pima and Santa Cruz and Cochise Countics in the foothills. With us it is herbaceous, dying down completely to the roots each fall but forming in the summer a dense bush-like plant one to three feet high. Once seen it can never be confused with another plant. The leaves are clothed with white shiny, stiff hairs above, below and along the cdzes; the stems are similarly clothcd and even the flowers and fruitse The loaves are large and the whole plant makes a striking -101- EUPHORBIACEAL ornanental., The "mala mujer", or bad woman, as the plant is called, is best observed at a respectable distance as the stinging hairs are very painful to the touch. The plant is never browsed and its ero- sion control value is questionable. It should, however, be inves- tigated for its latex and possible medicinal alkaloids. Jatropha macrorhiza is similar in growth habit to the last. Its range is southern New Mexico and Arizona and south into Mexico. It is herbaceous and coarse and bushy in appearance, with large green leaves without spines. It has a very large, fleshy root of pleasant flavor not unlike new potatoes. Children occasionally dig it up and eat the roots with serious results, as it is violently purgative. The purgative propertics have long heen recognized by the Mexicans, who frequently use it for this purposee The root is occasionally sliced and dried. Kastern Buckeyc, The fruit is a somewhat triangular throe-culled husk containing three secds. It is & very rare plant with us and ROE E should constitute a novelty in arborcta. It probably has no value COrerOraeo or Lor ores. on concrols RHAMNACEAE *Ceanothus fendleri, commonly called Buck Brush or sometimes Soap Push, is © low spreading shrub with small grayish leaves which arc darker green above then below. It is common throughout the yel- low pine ete in our territory and far to the north and west. Its low sprawling habit combined with its tendency to form complete -lOT- plant. ~ Exveriments indicate that it is valuable for rubber. None of the above Asclepias plants have becn grown in tho nursery at Tucson. CONVOLVULACEAE Dichondra argentea is too rare to have a common name and too unusual and peri co leave unmentioned. Where it grows it is frequently abundant but it is suited only to very dry, rocky warm situations. Naturally, it is confined to western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Arizona and adjacent Mexico. The leaves and stems of this plant are silvery gray and the stems cling close to the ground and root freely. Where it will grow it is an ideal erosion control plant and should prove a novelty in rock gardens, POLEMCNIACEAE The Gilia and pes ces are abundant in the southwest; mostly in the eer ere s Se Some of the former are annuals. Many, however, are oor Ss All of our Philoxes are showy perennials and some are fair erosion control plants whigh may sometime find a place in our work. canes resemble the cultivated phloxes and are interesting as ornamentals ection HYDROPHYLLACHAB *Eriodictyon angustifolium or Yerba Santa, is a shrub which is abundant in many of the wounta ains of the extreme southwest from southern Arizona’ to southern California, Utah and Novada, .t alti- tudes of about 3,000 to 5,000 fect. The traveler between Superior and Globe, Arizona is ey to observe the large patches of this shrub along the highway ombaniments. It forms dense stands, sprouting -122- HYDROPHYLLACEAEB frocly from the roots and the caudicese For this reason it is an oxcellent soil binder. It is probably browsed to some extont, par- ticularly by sheep and goats. The loaves contain a balsam-like resin which is not unpleasant to the taste. The balsam has been utilized for cough preparations. The dried leaves are official in the U. 5S. Pharmacopoeia. BORAGINACT AB Coldenia canescens is a low spreading suffrutescent perennial comnon to the hottest, driest sections of the southwest, from Texas to California. It doubtless has some value as a soil binder but as it never makes a complete ground cover and as it is valueless as i. forage, its only place is to excite the curiosity of the traveler. Coldenia gregeii is a shrub with small gray ovate hairy leaves LS Eppes es and white f Flowers. It is very common on some of the dry limestone hills of western Texas and southern New Mexico. Its value for for- age is not known and its value 9s an erosion control plant is slight. It should make a hardy ornamental for rock gardens. Coldenia hispidissima is a common sight in the White Sands region, the sandy deserts of Central and Northern Arizona and those of southern Utah. It is a true shrub but the stems are almost al- ways buricd in sand and only the ends of the branches with their small hispid leaves are visible. This plant has a marked value as @ soil binder and should be suitable for pronzgation on sand dunes and in rock gardens. Buploca convolvulaceae is an annual confined to the sand dunes or very sandy land ft fron Nebraska to Arizona. It is a creeping vine with rather small, ovate-lanceolate leaves covered with long, stiff appressed hairs, giving the leaves a srayish appearance. This plant grows in profusion and in spite of being an annual is an effective sand binder. It is valueiess as forage but should make a beautiful ornamental. VERBENACEAR Lippia wrightii is a common shrub in the foothills of the southwest from aoeeou Texas to southern California and south into Mexicoe it is a mint with small crenate leaves and a very pleasant odor. The white flowers are in short spikes. These have an even more delicete perfume-like odor than the leaves. The bush is of some valuo for forage and grows sufficiently abundant in many places on steep slopes to be of value for erosion control. The plant should be used more extensively as a garden shrub because of its flowers and its delightful odor. ~125- VERBENACGAE *Lippia aoe is a shrub somewhat like Le wrightii but one which Zrows siderably taller. It is not uncommon in western Texas but it ae ce occur in New Mexico or California. It has been found in a few places in Santa Cruz County in Arizona, close to the Mexican border. This shrub has quite long spikes of small white flowers and even more pleasing odor of leaves ana flowers than Le wrightii.e in Sonora, Mexico it is highly prized as a for- ze plant. As it is casily propagated from seeds and cuttings it should be used as an ornamental and may have value in the future as an crosion control and forage plant in our revegetation work in the coxtroine southweste *xLippia canescens, often callicd Le repens, is an introduction in the Soe been used for ma vears in lawns in south- ern California and in oe ae Arizona. It 1s a low creeper which roots frcely along the prostrate stems and thus constitutes a par excellence crosion concrol as ate dts tonderness to frost precludes its usc in the northern part of our rangc.Lippia nodiflora is a plant quite similar to L. canescons but it has a morc erect habit.: According ‘to weer from Galifornia it is an execptional erosion comtrol plant and-should be tried oxtcnsively in our ranges 2c is not so suitable for lawns as L, canescens, Lippia cuncif rolia, a native of western Texas and southern New Mexico s very eciae to the last two and may have the acvan- lic in a) an tage of being mu po is be, Deine. tried a Tucsone Q i =a 3 Ds 2 Lin LABIATAE *Poliomintha incana. This Mint p Fa ak ™m omiscs to. become very im= portant in our reveretation programe a lo 5 is w spreading shrub in the Vihite Sands commonly found in deep sand, being 7 of New Mexico and in the sand hills in the Hopi and Navajo regions. Since it spreads close to the ground it is much more effective in checking drifting sand than plants having single erect stems. This plant is perfectly at home under cultivation, growing ljuxuriantly at Tucson and Sh iprock. If it is kept cut back each season it al i forms a handsome plant for border planting. The flowers are obun- dant and showy but not loud. The young shoots are tender and of a pleasant oe flavor. hey arc wsed extensively by the Hopis for food. It can be said reasonably that they might Teall grace the a} tables of whites in gan ishes and salads. ® Lye ium po Volt berrye Tha Giles) produces Truc Ss sp ereat abundance anc it is easy to handle in the nursery. It is le eS ~ 2 fy s ‘ . ‘ 7 « 3 : . 3 . cay ‘ - v “ ‘a (27 There are still other s been carefully studied, A. fili large areas on usually quite aie te anc It is doubtful, however, that this and such plants as Parosela scoparic. help much in pre- venting drifting of sand. In fact they may “even aggravate it by diverting air currents into small channels, A. filifolia supplies abundance of forage for all kinds of stock. It is rcported, howover, as being poisonous at times to horses. -1350- COMPOSITAE *Artemisia frigida is probably much more important than stock- men and ecologists credit it with being. It is low, has an extensive system of rhizomatous roots which are effective in binding the soil and it is quite palatable to stock, particularly sheep. It with- stands grazing remarkably well. The condemnation is that it is an undoubted indication of overgrazing. On well regulated ranges it tends to disappear. Its use is to be recommended as a soil binder and a forerunner of grama grass and western wheat grass where the grass cover has nearly or completely disappeared. Other sages of vory similar nature to A. frigida are A, kansana, which is particularly abundant in the @ Capitan foothills, and *A, wrichtii, in the Mule Creck and Black Range sections of New Moxicdes “The latbor is unguestionably one of the best soil binders occupying sandy stream bottoms and extending far up the slopes. Its rhizomatous roots hold the soil very effectively. It is apparently rather unpalatable and extensive stands indicate an overgrazed condition. Another one to be classed with this group is A. ludovi- clanae One place where it is abundant is in Cimarron Canyon in New Mexico. Artemisia gnaphaloides is much less common with us than the species mentioned above. It has a good rhizomatous root system, is browsed to some extent and has beon uscd, according to Dr. Ek. F. Casceutver of the University of New Mexice, 55 the Indians for decades to poison insects. *Bascharis glutinosa, Batamote or Seep Willow. lire Hamilton, Regional. See aeen Necion 8, declares that this is one of the best erosion control plants in the Gila water shed. Its use is confined to valleys and bottoms where there is considerable moisture. It occupies the banks of the streams next to land that is likely to be most heavily eroded and even invades the rocky bottoms themselves, thus serving to cause the silt and rocks to become deposited. An advantage in its use is that it is easily propagated by cuttings. Only the stomach of a Jackass, however, can tolcrate it as food. We have other specics of Baccharis. Two of these, 3B. emoryi and B. sarothroides, are tall shrubs interesting only as possible ornamentals. Be Thesioides is fair forage but is not very abundant and is hardly to be classed as valuable for erosion control. *B. wrightii has passed out of the picture in many places because ane heavy Bee eee Stock seem to prefer it to grass or most other browse. t is not of much value for soil erosion control but its high forage value, its extreme drought resistance (it is found in some regions where the rainfall is less than five inches), and the tec thas 16 1s eee propagated by cuttings, make it a plant to be considered in the warmer ee of our Gorrivcory where grag— 1 can be regulated. © -ldl- COMPOSITAE Another Baccharis which is quite widely distributed in Arizona nt altitudes 4,000 to 7,000 feet, is B. pterinoides, Yerba-depasmo. It is commonly found in excellent grass land and is never browsed except in times of extreme drought. It is reported to be one of the worst poison plants in the southwest. It is used as a remedy for chills by the Indians and Hexicans. Solidago spp. There are several specics of Goldenrod in the southwest. Some of them extend far to the north while others are confined to the southwest and Mexico. For the most part they are good erosion control plants but valucless for forage. Our chief interest in thom at present is for their rubber content. Some species scem to run four or five percent rubber and such plants are comparable to guayule. None of the species arc adapted to use in the extromely dry, desert regions but some are suited to the Junipor and Pinon belts. Parthenium argentatum, the Guayule, Sometines called the Mexican rubber plent, is a low composite shrub with divided, grayish leaves ond small whitish, rather inconspicuous flowers. It is a native of western Texas and northern Mexico and has been introduced extensively into California and southern Arizona. The main intro- duction in southern Arizona was made some years ago by the Conti- nental Rubber Company about twenty miles south of Tucson. This company made elaborate provision for growing the Guayule in quanti- ty under irrigation. It, however, failed to produce adequate rub- ber when given the added moisture and the project was abandoned. In no place in this section docs the Guayule seem to have escaped, Plants arc still growing cxperimentally at Las Cruces, New Mexico and at the Soil Conservation Servico nursery at Tucson, as well as on the Continental Rubber Company plantings in southern California. it has been reported that the Guayule is being very successfully grown in portions of Russia and that the Soviet Republic is extract- ing rubber from it satisfactorily. It seems unlikely that this plant will ever be used extensively for the production of rubber within continental United States unless perchance future wers cut off the supply from tropical regions. Even in this case it seems likely that other plants such as some of our milkweeds, spurges and goldenrods, may prove to be even better for rubber production than the Guayule. Parthenium incanum, False Guayule, is a low shrub closely resembling the Guayule, It is abundant in western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Arizona and northern Mexico. It has practical- ly no rubber content but grows sufficiently abundant in places to be a fair groune cover. It should, however, be considered a pro- duct of overgrazing and replaced by more valuable plants. It is quite unpalatable. -152= 7 Usb: nds ey hay I i. Dat ey re ' esi 7 + } ; . ; ‘ ; ne = ‘ v4 hom an hi on A, ts gn ee ie COMPOSITAE *Hymenoclea monogyra is a very common shrub along sandy washes, at moderate to low altitudes from western Texas to southern Cali- fornia and southward. It is an erect, rather slender-branched bush with fine, slender leaves, It has a root system which is calculated to hold sand, rocks and soil to perfection. It is one of the best soil binders in the desert regions of the southwest. This tells the whole story for it is good for nothing else. In eny program of revegetation it should only be used as an cxtreme (last) resorte Many of the alluvial flats which it now occupies are suitable to plonts of higher forage value. fruit character. it is a rather low, small spreading bush with a tap-roov arc is no particular tenieicance as an erosion control plant. itt is likewise wiucless for forage. It is to be found on highor, more desert land than the other sneciese Eymenoclea salsola resembics H. monogyra only in leaf and Guticrrezia sppe, or the Snake weeds, arc cxtremely abundant throughent “the weste when in abundance they are definite indica- tors. of overgrazing. In some sections they are considered fair forage during the winter. They are, however, definitely placed on the ledger as poisonous plants and serious nodules may occur where Stock is forced by panies to eat large quantities of them. These plants are commonly woody at the base and have rather deep rootse They sre eee poor competitors of grass where grass is given the opportunity to properly develop. The young snake-weed plants cannot gain a foothold in a grass sod. they are far.less G serious plants on the range than the Burrowceds, which upon gain- ~~~ ing a foothold on the range are hard to dislodgo. Haplopappus hartwegi and rclated 2s, arc the Burroweeds of the ovorerazed southwost tern ranges. o snakeweed, these only become abundant after tho range has beon abused. Commonly they grow at a somewhat lower altitude than the snakeweeds and as mentioned above, are difficult to eradicate from the range. UEx-= tonsive experiments have been carried on with these plants on the southwestern range preserve south of Tucson, Arizona. They quite closely resemble the snakeweeds but have divided leaves and com- monly more shrubby habit. Helianthus annuus is the common annual Sunflower which is so abundant throughout the west. It has little value as an erosion control or as a forage plant but the seeds are important wildlife food and the plants have been used for ensilage, in which condition they are reported to be fair stock food. One of the sunflowers, probably a selection from this specics, is grown by the Hopi Indians. The seeds of this are used in the preparation of a dye as well as for articles of food. -15g= weed useful sunflower ( Helianthus annuus) but A common common The Shh 2 ASN ES EESTI PAAR GIN Eg REPT BOE gt BE SE CGE COMPOSITAE Helianthus ciliaris is a Sunflower which none of us would accuse of being such. it is a low perennial with bluish green leaves and long, perennial root stalks. It is very common in the lower Rio Grande agricultural areas where it is called Blueweed, and loved no better than snakes. Its use has been advocated by erosion..control pcople because of its exccllent soil-binding habits. It’ should, however, be remembered that it constitutes a very trouble- some weed in farm lands and if it is used at all this should be done with extreme caution. Lygodesmia juneca, Skeleton Plant, is a perennial which is hrubby at the base but has an herbaccous tope As the name "Jjuncca" indicates, the stems arc slender and almost leafless. The plant has small, bluish-white flowers and milky juice. Commonly it is not con-= sidercd of value for forage purposes but obsorvations in the desert leads us to believe that the plant has much more value than is com-= monly noted, At times it is very heavily browsed and as it is extremely drought resistant it may have a place in revegetation programs. The plant should alsa be tested for its possible rubber content, It is widely distributed in the west. In some regions it is suspected of being poisonouse lygodesmia grandiflora probably is of no significance as a forage plant but Stace has not been introduced into flower gardens is hard to comprechenc. It blooms through a long scason and has very showy, pinkish-white flowers. its low bushy habit and its ability to wit thstand drought and to grow in poor soil, make it ideal as an ornamental in many southwestern situations. It does not range as far south as lL. juncea, coming only into northern New Moxico and northorn Arizona. Otherwise the range is comparable to that of L. junceae Chrysothamnus spp. The Rabbit bushes are extremely abundant at moderate to high altitudes throushout the west. They are low to rather tall shrubs with bright yellow flowers. ‘ie have several species in the southwest. ‘hile they are effective soil binders am meny Localities they mast be considered weeds as they are not browsed and thoir growth and abundance are promoted by heavy graze ing of the ranze. lixtcnsive tests have boen made on several spe- eles of this gcnus to determine their rubber content. Some are promising from this standpoint. Senecio filifolius, Groundsel a ne ee « We havo many species of this genus of composites in the wost. They range ee rare to abundant but none are so wide in distribution and so generally abundant as this species, ranging from Colorado and Utah, south into Mexico. COMPOSITAE The light=-grayish green shrubs bloom early and late, the yellow blossoms appearing every month in the year in our SSurgher valleys and rocky draws. Frequently it forms almost pure stands over large arcas on alluvial fans at the mouths of canyons. It is oxtremely drought resistant. In very dry years stock browse it severely. It is, however, a starvation ration which is never touched when better plants are availablo. Wyethia scabra. This low sunflower-like composite has a wide distribution in the Ro as Mountains from New Mexico to Wyoming and Utah. It is, however, relatively rare, being found only in dry sandy places in the ee belt. The are has long, broad, green shiny leaves coming out from the base of the plant and rather short flower stalks with large flowers resembling those of the sunflower. The plant is very harsh to the touch. It is, however, browsed some extcnt and has a good spreading root system making it an exccl- lend erosion control plant. Tetradymia inormis, Horse Bush, is a low, grayish composite Dues with hh bright yellow flowers, widely distributed in the foothills r the Rocky Mountains and westward but extending south only into northern New Mexico and northern Arizonae It is abundant and con- stitutes a fair ground cover on many dry sites. It is variously reported as fair to poor shecp browse, Its use as a revegetation plant should be postponed until its palatability has been more care-= fully studied. The plant may even prove to be poisanous when con-= sumed in large quantities, The following species is definitely known to be poisonous to stock. Tetradyvmia axillaris, Horse Bush, is a very weaksstbemed, —— ee straggling shrub, always ; found in the protection of other shrubs. It has bright, yellow flowers, very long spines and clusters of plumose seeds. It is confined to extremely dry mesas in southern Utah and northern lone and is roportved to Me poisonous to stock. The flowers arc among the most fragrant in the desert and suggest the possibility of their use in the aT ne ae perfumery. There are several other species of Tetradymias in the west. Thev are often confused with the rabbit bushes (Chrysothamnus). With these they must be considered generally apeaking, as undesirable shrubs. Franseria dumosa, White Bur Sage, is a low desert shrub which oe ee over very large areas in the Mohave Desert from California to Utah and Arizona and south into Mexico. It-has whitish bark and grayish green leaves which are quite finely. divided. It is heavily browsed throughout its range and since it forms pure stands it is unguestionably a valuable erosion control plant. It will not, however, grow in anything but the warmest portion of our range e 4 oniiedinedl - COMPOSITAE There are several other species of Franseria in the southwest, most of which are considered ae They are for the most part un- palatable and some have burs sembling cockleburse One of the most outstanding of these rank iene is Ff. ambrosioides, which is a com- mon sight along the sandy draws from Tucson, Arizona westward. It has rather long, coarse leaves with serratcedentate margins and slender peticles. As it grows along tne edges of washes it has some value as an erosion control plant. It is not, however, recommended for planting. Encclian farinose, White Brittslebush, is a common shrub in the hot, dry regions or southern Arizona as well as northern Mexico. It has grayish leav$s and bright vellow flowers, It constitutes an almost complete ground cover in places and may be significant as a soil binder. It, however, does not have a good ae system or a low-spreading habit so characteristic of excellent crosion control plants. It is browsed slightly. hee a hay fover inducer this rates nighe Brickellie squemulosa, Pricxcllbush. in the draws and bottoms eee ou iaek Hillsboro, New Mexico, is a perennial plant with a woody base ei and with abundant straisht stemse It somewhat resombles rabbit ae The bases of the plants are thick and well rooted and consti- tute excellent soil binderse Whola bottoms in this vicinity aro houd on place by this slant. [ts soil a ee properties seem to be all to recommend it, as is uscless as forage or nearly so. There are several other Jrickel which occur in the southwest, some of which are reported. to be fair forage. Further work is re- zt quired to determine their value as erosion control plants. 1a ey) 193) 4 Sy ) Oxytenia acerasa is a perennial composite which resembles ee re me ee ere ree slightly a sage. It is shrubby at the base and has a strong rhizometous root system. it occurs in dry alkeli flats in souwth- western Colorado and adjacent Utah and Arizona where it forms pure stands. it is incomparable for erosi rol in these areas and is browsed to some cxtent, probably only as a starvation diet. Selenium tests have been run on this plant and not more than a trace has been found. it, however, has been cefinitely proved to be a serious stock poison and mus t be considered in any erosion control program. saamee Lum leucanthum is a low perernial composite with handsome white rays. its only possible ae is as an ornamental but for this purpose it should have a distinct place in the south- western flower garden. It is abundant on many dry plains and rocky foothills. F}ourensia cernus, Tar Bush, is a glutinous comocsite shrub ——— ee -156= COMPOSITAE often called Black Bush. It ranges over wide areas in western Texas, southern New Mexico and Arizona and adjacent Mexicoe The shrub is encouraged by overgrazing and now occupies extensive areas which doubtless were formerly in grass. It is worthless as forage and its more or less erect habit aes not recommend it for erosion control. This has been uscd extensively in the past medicinally for every disease practically, to which the human body is subject. it is likely that its use is based on the superstition that the nastiest thing is the best medicine. *Kuryops multifidus. Euryops is one of our more promising exotics as for es its ability to withstend drought and to seed it- self are concerned. It is reported to have some value as a sheep browse but our work has thus far not permitted any feeding cxperi- ments.e It has a habit very similar to many of our rabbit bushes (Chrysothomus SPPe Je Ht wbit of the plant and its root system do not make it outstending for soil conservation work, If, however, it proves to be worthwhilo as 2 forage plant it may prove to have a distinct value in the warmer scetions of our regione It blooms profusely ana atrracts bees in great numbers. We do not have in- formation on the grade of honey produced. S pachypteris. This is another of our exotics from South Africa. It is very similar in general habit and root growth to Euryopse What applies to Euryops applies equally well to Tripteris. It is reported to be fair sheep forase but we need to conduct feeding experiments to establish its real value. It is blooming almost constant y and is a favorite with bees. Here again [>) we. do.not mow the quality of the honey produced. iripperd *Pontzia incanae. Our most outstanding exotic from South Africa.of the sheep browse type is Pentzia. It is lower and more spreading than either Huryops or Trigteris. In fact it forms a dense tangled rooted mass on the ground. As intimated, it is recommended as a good sheep browsee It was treated at some length in a back number of Soil Conservation by Dr. franklin J. Crider. ‘here it becomes established in our warmer regions individual niente sur- vive well. Mr. Prichard of the Forest Service Nursery-at Superior, Arizona, says that it reprodu itsclf on the desert so sparingly as to make the olant practically valucless.e. At Shiprock, New Mexico it freezes out where it does not receive the protection of snow or buildings. It is a plant of such outstanding charactcris- ties that it Snony be given « trial in many places throughout the southwest, including California and Nevada. in any region where it will survive the winters and reproduce itself readily it should prove very valuable. we plan to use it on all the observational plantings we ostablish in Arizona, r 2B Ei eae ae an sy Abies arizonica concolor lasiocarpa SPD. Abronla sppde Abutilon SPPe theophrasti Acacia constricta vare paucispina grereii lermoni Mo ir olia. 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Arizona Arizona Arizona fendleriana glabrata hamualosa. longiseta orcuttiana pansa pinnata purpurascens SDP ternipes Cypress Fescue Muhly Arizona Palm Arizona Nosevood Arrowfeather SS eens + Artemisia eC As if frigida gnavhaloides koansane ludoviciana nova tridenta ok Lea wr ig ohy 5 al ab 4 solenindsc BY3KC) fisclepias albicans erosa subulata Ash h A p aspars Flowering am Gregg Lowell Single-leafed Scuthwe stern stand] ey Touney veus OFF icinalis Astragalus lonchocarpus mortoni nutvtallianus rubyi SPVe neko a ww A Oe i Ss teed PS Aw CCN Ca 4 ps pa HH (3) Pod: le ee IA®, 120 120 Astrebla elynoides lappacea ftriplex acanthoca canescens confertifolia corrugata cuneata garrettil lentiformis rpa Vaxc 5 Healey ojslige ls) nuttallii tess Baceate Yucca baccharis ennoryi glutinosa oterinoides arothroides thesioides wrightil Dailey's Hop Hornbean Sarberry ommon Tee JoDEaNCesc Deans Eifopeieran Be Y¥ine “estern Bearberry bcar Grass Beard Grass OU shy Prairie Silver fexas eardless Dull Grass eeplant, Colorado Beggerstick Grass heloperone califomica Benthamantha edwardsii berberidaceae Coral tT a 1 id -1359- “ . cn O71 O1 Cn OF OT NAA OO ~~) 0 © ©)