MORACEAE 



*Morus miorophylla, Native I'ulberry. Few of our indigenous 

 trees have a wider distribution than our small and exceedingly var- 

 iable native mulberry. It is common throughout the southwest at 

 altitudes from 2,000 to 6,000 feet. Frequently it grows singly but 

 more often in dense clumps. In many places near the road from Tucson 

 to Oracle, Arizona, it forms clumps along the bottoms of swales and 

 along rocky washes in open dry sites. Fore frequently it occurs 

 along very rocky washes and in canyons in the mountains. It is par- 

 ticularly fond of rocky north-facing slopes below cliffs or high 

 bluffs. The fruits are commonly very small and are not produced 

 in too great abundance. They are, however, more tart and of better 

 flavor than the usual cultivated mulberry. The fruits are difficult 

 to collect because they are scattering on the trees ant", mostly be- 

 cause the birds get to them first. The trees are excellent soil 

 binders where they occur along washes, the long horizontal roots 

 often effectively holding arroyo banks* It scorns likely that strains 

 can be found which will produce fruit of a size better suited to col- 

 lection or which will produce trees of larger size and better growth 

 habit. For example, a tree was found on the American Hanch out of 

 Froscott, Arizona which bore fruit fully twice the usual size and 

 of excellent flavor. Trees much tailor than the usual run and much 

 more shapely, were found in the Fofa fountains of western Arizona. 

 Since mulberries can be persuaded to grow from cuttings, these 

 offer possibilities. The Russian and ..hi to mulberry trees also 

 offer possibilities. They form good trees and produce abundant 

 fruit for birds. They arc not so drought resistant as the Osage 

 Orange. The nurseries grow many thousand of these each season. 



I .aclura po mif ere (Toxylon pomiferum), Osage Orange, is very 

 drought resistant where it once becomes established. It forms an 

 extensive and intricate root system when grown in hedges and makes 

 excellent windbreaks and thickets. The wood is durable and is much 

 used for fence posts. About 100,000 plants arc ready for distribu- 

 tion from the nurseries to the projects. Direct seeding on the 

 range is hardly feasible. 



Ilumu lus lupulus Vtxr. no o -mo x i e ana . The '.Tild Hop has been 

 suggested for erosion control. In certain sites where there is 

 adequate moisture it should do admirable work. Below Ifutrioso, 

 Arizona along a valley which had become badly gullied, hops arc 

 growing over the banks and doing a remarkable work in soil binding. 

 The hop, however, is limited to sites with considerable moisture. 

 By preference it grows in willow and brush thickets along streams. 

 The hop has been widely distributed throughout the world as a result 

 of its use for the manufacture of yeast and beer. Our hop is very 

 closely related to the hop of commerce. In fact the native hops 

 wore formerly gathered in quantity for the local markets. In 1937 

 our Service sent fresh plants to Cornell University for experimental 



