IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS | 73 
altitudes of 4,500 to 7,000 feet in the mountains of southeastern Ari- 
_ zona, being esteemed there as yearlong cattle browse; however, it is 
_ probably more palatable in spring, fall, and winter than in summer. 
SILK FLOWERS AND FALSE-MESQUITE (CALLIANDRA SPP.) 
The genus Calhandra is a large one, confined to the Americas, 
mainly in the Tropics. It is very closely related, however, to the 
Old World (Mediterranean) genus Albizzia, to which belong the 
_ familiar ornamental silktree and mesenna, whose bark is a specific 
_for tapeworm. The medicinal (antiperiodic) panbotano bark of 
_ Mexico is derived from @. houstonz,; saponin, according to Greshoff 
(95) occurs in the same species, but there appears to be no ground 
_ for regarding the genus with suspicion from the stock-grazer’s view- 
point. Several of the species are under cultivation as ornamentals 
under the generic name silk flower, and a number yield an astringent 
eum, 
False-mesquite (C. eriophylla) is a dwarfed, more or less pros- 
trate shrub (fig. 17), known also as bastard mesquite, false catclaw, 
and occasionally hairy-leaf calliandra, occurring from western Texas 
to central Arizona and southward practically throughout Mexico. 
_ Where it is protected it is sometimes 2 feet tall and rather erect, but 
more commonly is but 3 to 12 inches high. It is a common feature 
of the landscape on many foothills of the Southwest between about 
3,000 and 4,000 feet, growing in warm open sunny situations. It is 
especially characteristic of sandy gravels of granitic origin, and is 
associated with such plants as alfileria, catclaw, curly mesquite grass, 
and the lower-range grama species. The showy purplish flowers 
are produced from February to April. Seed is ripened and dissem- 
inated from May to August. 
False-mesquite is a very good browse plant within its range, where 
it is usually plentiful. Its delicate but copious foliage and the 
more tender of its twigs are highly relished by both sheep and cattle, 
making it an important and valuable species, particularly in the 
spring. In southeastern Arizona the species is regarded as one of 
the most important forage plants. 
Chemical analyses by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils of leaves 
and young twigs of this species from the Prescott National Forest 
in Arizona show crude fiber somewhat high but also a high protein 
percentage: 
Per cent 
LOGHeER ene. annem Sh ee ey) Se 7. 86 
ANID, Los seh ar ie at a) mera ae i DER hs Se Sa eS 6. 02 
UOTREYSPE” ES EDP le SR a Te cee 7 WT ON en Dat 
ESO) cal ten eae BT te A pegs a LS 14. 00 
CORTE ES TT Pere a a a Se Nene ce Se Ree ee ee 15. 46 
eRe er PRCCIe NERA Ch 2 oe es ee ee 54, 16 
DING) lect lemme eee Se ec Nie Las ee ey 100. 00 
MESQUITES (PROSOPIS SPP.) 
Prosopis is a (largely African) genus of about 17 species, occur- 
ring in warm, mostly dry, subtropical or tropical climates. 
