WH 
THe Weet American Scerey tis. 
Vor. VI. JUNE, 1880. No. 44 



SOME NATIVE FORAGE PLANTS OF SOUTHERN 
CALIFORNIA: 
One would scarcely look at the Colorado desert to furnish any 
valuable additions to the list of forage plants. The value of the 
mesquite and allied trees has been mentioned in a former paper, 
but we now have to treat of other plants which have borne the 
test for over three years. 
A portion of the month of April this year’ was spent on the 
borders of this desert, where we were fortunate in making the 
acquaintance of Mr. Marion D. Haydon, whose hospitality we 
enjoyed for several days. From this reliable observer we learned 
many interesting facts, especially concerning the following plants, 
which information may prove of great economic value in the arid 
portions of the west. 
ALFILARIA. 
Alfilaria (Erodium cicutarium, L’ Her.) was found abundantly 
around Mr. Haydon’s desert ranch, which is located on the edge 
of a sandy plain, surrounded by granite hiils on several sides and 
locally known as the DosCabesas from two hugh rocks above the 
spring resembling human heads in their general contour. He 
had a small band of horses and cattle which he proposed to pas- 
ture all of this summer on the surrounding plains. To a stranger 
the alfilaria might seem to have been the only food obtainable by 
the cattle. While at this season it was doubtless relished by the 
stock better than anything else, yet it will be seen later that it 
was not the only available forage. Eight years ago not a plant 
of alfilaria was to be seen growing on this desert where now it is 
so abundant. It made its first appearance on the desert slope at 
about that time around the old stage station at Mountain Springs, 
where it is now luxuriant. Erodium moschatum was not ob- 
served, although near the coast it is usually mixed with the other 
species, especially in moist valley land. It will be seen how 
easily the alfilaria may have been introduced from Europe and 
have spread so rapidly as to be now considered by some as act- 
ually indigenous to our country. 
MOABTTA<:; RASS. 
Only one true grass was found growing on these sandy plains 
of the desert, although a few others grew among the rocks in the 
canyons. This grass is Hilaria rigida, known to the ranchmen 
