> 
Monkey flowers. These are more plentiful in the West (over 
100 species in the Pacific States) than in the rest of the country. 
The plants are succulent, generally about a foot in height, with large, 
brilliant flowers. The commonest color is yellow, often spotted with 
reddish brown, as in the common monkey flower. Several species 
are purple, as the dwarf monkey flower, an annual species that often 
carpets acres of gravelly soil along roadsides. Others are bright pink 
with a yellow throat, as in the perennial Lewis monkey flower, one 
of the most striking forbs of the mountainous areas of the Northwest, 
where it borders streambanks, waterfalls along rock outcrops, and 
wet roadside ditches. 
Grasses 
Grasses not only are one of the most important groups of plants 
used for controlling soil erosion, but also they form a pleasing green 
blanket as a setting for trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. Mixtures of 
several kinds of grasses are generally used for seeding roadsides so 
that the rapid-growing grasses will provide temporary cover until a 
permanent turf is established by slower developing species. The 
qualities needed in grasses for such use are low, spreading form (to 
reduce frequency of mowing). drought tolerance, ability to grow in 
y E ; ) 
Grass the healer. F-510925 
SS) & 
ere - 
poor soils, resistance to weed invasion, and deep roots for stabilizing 
steep slopes. If allowed to grow to maturity, a few species produce 
striking plumes and are highly valued as ornamentals. Following 
are some of the more important perennial grasses. 
Bluegrasses. These zrasses are widely distributed throughout the 
United States, particularly in the northern and western sections. 
Kentucky bluegrass, one of the most useful species, will grow on a 
wide variety of sites but thrives best on well-drained loams. It 
forms a good sod and will withstand trampling and close cropping or 
mowing. If the moisture supply is ample, its foliage will remain 
green throughout the summer. Canada bluegrass, another important 
member of this group, is better adapted to the poorer and drier sites. 
It will tolerate clay, sand, or gravelly soils but does not form as dense 
sod as Kentucky bluegrass. 
Fescues. Most of the fescues are bunchgrasses; consequently, 
they are often mixed with sodformers to provide a more complete soil 
cover. Red fescue is particularly good for seeding with Kentucky 
bluegrass on the better sites. Tall fescue is better adapted to less 
fertile soils and is one of the more luxuriant and attractive grasses 
now being used extensively along highway slopes. Chewings fescue 
is a sodformer that is suitable for light soils on dry sites. 
Silvergrass. F—510707 
