County, Utah, were bagged while still in bud to see if they produced any viable seed 

 without pollen being added to the bags. Over 1,200 seeds were produced, but only 5 

 (0.4 percent) germinated. These viable seeds may have been produced parthenogenetical ly 

 or the flowers may have produced sufficient pollen to pollinate the pistils. Evidence 

 of self-compatibility was obtained in 1968 when a monoecious branch was bagged as a 

 control. It produced 155 seeds of which 31 (20 percent) germinated. 



Artificial hybridization attempted by treating pistillate flowers of Apache plume 

 with pollen from cliffrose and antelope bitterbrush (fig. 25) has produced only a few 

 viable seeds and seedlings (table 1). We believe the production of viable seed from 

 these crosses can be improved. Since so few viable seeds were produced using Apache 

 plume as the maternal plant, it was used in 1971 as the pollen source for hybridization 

 of emasculated flowers of bitterbrush, cliffrose, and the cl if frose-bitterbrush hybrid. 

 Better seed production was obtained (table 1) . A few putative natural hybrids between 

 this species and cliffrose have been observed in the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona. 

 These hybrids have the Apache plume characteristic of vigorous underground spread, a 

 trait that would be useful in cliffrose and bitterbrush. Certainly, they would be less 

 vulnerable to fire. 



Distribution and Habitat: Apache plume occurs in southern California, Nevada, 

 southern and central Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, and northern Mexico. It 

 grows best in such deep, moist, rich sites as open canyon bottoms and the sides of 

 arroyos. It occurs, however, in a variety of soils from dry, rocky ridges of the lower 

 brush types through the pinyon- juniper type to the open ponderosa pine belt. Apache 

 plume is most abundant in the southern parts of its range. The northernmost population 

 in Utah was thought to be the one north of Richfield, Sevier County, Utah, in the Willow 

 Creek area; however, in the spring of 1971, a single small Apache plume was found grow- 

 ing about 30 miles further north in the foothills west of Gunnison, Sanpete County, 

 Utah. Apache plume has established well from planting east of Boise, Idaho. Through 

 introduction, this shrub's range could be greatly expanded. 



Use: Apache plume is low to fair in palatabil ity . It is important winter forage 

 in the southeastern portion of its range. Apache plume is also an important erosion- 

 control plant in the arid regions where it grows. It is useful for this purpose be- 

 cause it spreads underground vegetatively . Nursery stock and wildings have been planted 

 for erosion control. IVhere seed sources exist, it spreads naturally to roadside 

 shoulders and barrow pits. 



Apache plume is highly fire tolerant. Clumps have been observed to sprout back 

 vigorously after campfires have been built on them. If this strong attribute could be 

 bred into Stansbury cliffrose and antelope bitterbrush, their value for erosion control 

 would be "greatly improved. 



Peraphyllum ramosissimum (Squawapple) 



Squawapple is an intricately-branched shrub to 2 m tall, with deciduous, simple, 

 nearly sessile leaves clustered at the ends of short branchlets (fig. 29) . The leaf 

 blades are 12 to 50 mm long and 5 to 9 mm wide. They are light green, glabrous above 

 and paler with minute pubescence below. 



The pale-pink, fragrant epigynous flowers are borne solitarily or in clusters of 

 two or three. Flowers are composed of five persistent reflexed sepals, five spreading 

 petals about 8 to 12 mm long, about 20 stamens, and one pistil. 



The flowering period of squawapple is from April to July, depending on ecotype, 

 elevation, and climate. The fruit is a small, yellowish, globose, bitter pome about 

 12 mm or less in diameter at maturity. Squawapple averages 23,750 cleaned seeds per 

 pound (52/g) (Plummer and others 1968) . 



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