SALTBUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES IN THE UNITED STATES 83 
E.. pinetorum forms part of the food for cattle and sheep on the 
plains and foothills of the Southwest. 
ERIOGONUM POLYCLADON Benth. 
Eriogonum polycladon differs from ££. pinetorum chiefly in the 
shape and size of the leaves and flowers and the general woolliness of 
the plant. Casual observers would hardly notice the difference, 
although it is conspicuous enough when pointed out. The two 
species are similar in chemical composition. “£. polycladon grows 
over the same areas and serves the same purpose as /’. pinetorwm. 
Department sample 8944 (G), consisting of mature plants in full 
bloom, cut near the ground in the foothills of the Santa Rita Moun- 
tains, contained, on an air-dry basis, 6.1 per cent of moisture, and, 
on a water-free basis, 5.6 per cent of ash, 2.4 per cent of ether extract, 
30.1 per cent of crude fiber, 53.9 per cent of nitrogen-free extract, 
8 per cent of protein, and 12.1 per cent of pentosans. 
ERIOGONUM WRIGHTII Torr. 
Eriogonum wrightit is a branching shrub, 2 feet high or less, with 
woody, reddish-brown basal stems, from which the white woolly 
covering is usually worn off. The upper stems are densely woolly, 
graylish-white, and much branched. (Pl. X, fig. 2.) The leaves, most 
of which are on the older stems, are small and white-woolly, like 
the young stems. The species grows rather freely on rocky hill- 
sides and in rough canyons in the foothills of the mountains in 
Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas, and southward into 
Mexico. 
Department sample 8593 (G) consists of material in full bloom, 
with the leaves dry, collected in the Santa Rita Mountains, Ariz., 
September 27, 1906. Department sample 8943 (G) consists of 
the growth of the year in full leaf and flower, collected in the 
Santa Rita Mountains, Ariz., September 23, 1907. 
Composition (water-free basis) 
Sample Moisture 
Nitrogen-| 
Ether Crude . Pente- 
Ash free Protein : 
extract fiber REACH sans 
| 
Percent | Percent | Percent | Percent | Percent | Percent | Per cent 
Department 8593 (G)_________- 3: 5 3.4 ¥, 1 30. 5 Dilek 6.9 15.1 
Department 8943 (G)___-_____- 6.0 3.9 200 Pile &) 58. 6 Ua & 1D 
The little shrubs begin to grow in the spring, probably from stored 
moisture, the stimulus to growth apparently being the rise in tem- 
perature. For this reason, they are an important stock food at a 
time when other feed may be and often is scanty. Cattle and sheep 
eat the young shoots with relish. It is therefore much appreciated 
by cattlemen on some ranges in southern New Mexico, although 
they have given it no common name. 
43860 °—25——3 
