- aE ae 
IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS 5 
The palatability apples to the growing season of the vegetation in 
which the species in question occur and, in some cases, to the yearlong 
season. 
The following palatability tabulation, developed by W. R. Chap- 
line, has been followed in this work: 
Per cent 
Bracticallye Wwarinless. jo 25 Sy ee Less than 5. 
SEG OF es 2h I an RS a a Paar PN od 5 to 15. 
AR Aare ese eee eR LE eg a, ee eae yn mee 20 to 35 
Pepa eee eeeess MATRA Ee ES ek Sa ee 40 to 50. 
EORTC Se 20 ON es Seo eee ee os Vcr eee eae Ware be) eek ees aT 55 to 70. 
7 RES EA PROCES BY 0) [sty eds Sea eer a OR Ee Bs Ane ne Se Se 75 to 8b. 
5 SEES VS iG eS aa la a Ng Beare Beat se $0 and over. 
In developing statements of palatability, references to use of species 
on overgrazed range have largely been eliminated. There are many 
records, in print and unpublished, of extensive utilization of various 
unpalatable and distinctly inferior species which investigations of 
the Forest Service show are the result of overgrazing or otherwise 
exceptional conditions. 
No rule of thumb can be promulgated ‘by which a good browse 
species can be told from a poor one; like the pudding in the familiar 
adage, the proof of the good browse species rests primarily in the 
eating of it. In general, stock exhibit a preference for the relatively 
more succulent species and those with larger and thinner leaves. 
Few species of western shrubs with linear or threadlike (filiform) 
leaves are extensively browsed, although some very important forage 
species have compound leaves divided or dissected into linear -or 
otherwise narrow segments. ‘The species with leaf blades of a broad 
type—oblong, oval, rounded, etec-—are much more likely, other things 
being equal, to be superior in palatability and amount of forage 
produced. Such qualities of leaf are, of course, frequently closely 
connected with the habitat factors of light and moisture; the larger- 
leaved species, especially if the foliage is relatively thin, are more 
apt to be found in the moister and more shaded localities. 
When true desert conditions are reached the leaves are frequently 
lost altogether or become rudimentary and abortive, and the shrub 
carries on its food-producing functions by its stems either exclusively 
or chiefly, as in cacti, ephedras, canotia, paloverde, forsellesias, and 
numerous other drought-tolerant (xerophytic) plant groups. There 
is a marginal zone beyond this desert association (eremion) of leafless 
shrubs, wherein numerous species are found with narrow, folded 
leaves the tissues of which are developed in every way to retard 
transpiration, or loss of water vapor; such species are, with but a 
few notable exceptions, low in the scale of palatability if palatable 
at all. 
Shrubs with leathery, evergreen (coriaceous, or sclerophyllous) 
leaves are, in general, markedly less palatable than those with thinner 
and more delicate foliage. There are, however, exceptions to this 
rule, notably in the Southwest, where some of the best browse species, 
such as jojoba (Simmondsia) and gray oak (Quercus grisea) have 
thick, persistent leaves. Foliage of this character is usually typical 
either of a dry, sunny open site, or else of water-logged, boggy, and 
highly acid situations; on wet and acid sites the species are frequently 
members of the heath family (Ericaceae) ; these are likely to prove 
poisonous if grazed by stock. 
