70 American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



3. Slender Buckwheatbrush (Eriogonum mkrothecum Nutt.), fig. 

 23. — Low bushy shrub up to about 1 foot high; bark shreddy or somewhat 

 scaly; leaves usually scattered on the stems, or often crowded below, narrowly 

 oblong to spatula-shaped, 1/3 to % inch long; flowers yellow to reddish, the 

 clusters few-flowered at the ends of umbel-like branches. (Syns. E. corym- 

 bosum Benth. and E. Simpsoni Benth., as to the Southwest parks, E. divergens 

 Small. We include here also E. aureum Jones as listed by Kearney and 

 Peebles.i4 



This is a fairly good browse plant for animals, especially during the winter. 



Occurrence. — YOSEMITE: Mono Pass, east of park boundary. MESA VERDE. BRYCE 

 CANYON. ZION. GRAND CANYON, 6,200 to 9,000 feet. North Rim: Point Sublime; 

 Lauzon Ranch; Point Imperial. South Rim: Yaki Point. 



4. Spiny Buckwheatbrush (Eriogonum sulcatum Wats.). — Small, 

 diffusely-branched shrub 6 to 8 inches high; flowering stems intricately 

 branched with short, stiff-, angular branches, often spine-tipped, forming a 

 dense flat-topped bush; leaves 1/3 to I/2 inch long, linear to oblong or egg- 

 shaped; flowers white to cream-color or pinkish. 



Occurrence. — grand canyon. North Rim, 8,350 feet: Grama Point . 



5. Yucca Buckwheatbrush {Eriogonum plumatella D. & H.). — 

 Widely branching low bushes 1 to 2 feet high; flowering stems much-branched 

 with short, often zigzag branches, and giving a contorted appearance to the 

 flower-cluster; flowers cream to pink, or turning reddish. 



Occurrence. — grand canyon : Kaibab trail along switchbacks below Tip-off. 



Barberry Family (Berberidaceae) 

 Hollygrape (Mabonia Nutt.) 



The hollygrapes are evergreen shrubs with the leaves divided into spine- 

 toothed holly-like leaflets and with conspicuous clusters of yellow flowers. The 

 purplish-blue grape-like berries of most of the species have an agreeably tart 

 flavor and are sometimes gathered for jelly. Birds and the smaller mammals 

 are fond of them. The spiny foliage is of little use as a browse but it is 

 sometimes eaten when other food is scarce. Indians of the different regions 

 used the bark and roots medicinally. 



The hollygrapes are often included in the genus Berberis, barberry. They 

 differ from the true barberry, however, in having stems without spines, leaves 

 pinnately divided into prickly-toothed leaflets, and purple-blue berries with 

 a bloom. Some of the species of barberry act as alternate hosts for a black- 

 stem rust of grains. This disease is caused by a fungus which spends part 

 of its life history on the barberry leaves. None of the hollygrape species have 

 been found to be susceptible except Fremont hollygrape and, to a less extent 

 Oregon grape. 15 (Syn. Berberis L., in part, Odostemon Raf.) 



14 Kearney, T. H. & Peebles, R. H. Flowering Plants and Ferns of Arizona, p. 



253. 1942. 



15 Van Dersal, W. R., Native Plants of the United States, p. 70. 1938. 



