OHENOFOD IAC EAE 



bushes turn red or purple in the fall. From its habit of forming 

 dense thickets it should prove to be of value in erosion control 

 but its use is decidedly limited by its climatic range. 



*Atriplex acant h ocarp a, Texas Salt Bush, is abundant in west- 

 ern Texas and occurs in extreme southern New Mexico in low dry 

 alkaline bottoms. It is a spreading shrub !§■ to 2 feet high with 

 scurfy loaves and bur-like fruits. It grows in almost pure stands 

 and has some erosion control and forage value. It should find a 

 place in our observational work. 



*Sa lsola kali, the Russian Thistle, which is everywhere in our 

 range, has the warmest friends and the bitterest enemie-s of any of 

 our plants. In an overgrazed, exploited and all but abandoned range 

 it is a godsend as it furnishes an enormous amount of forage while 

 it is young. Often it has been gathered and stacked for stock food 

 during the winter months. Its presence is always the sign, unmistak- 

 ably, of abuse and exploitation, laziness and mismanagement of the 

 land. Formerly ncsters settled on quarter sections, plowed the 

 land, tried to raise wheat or corn and eventually starved out, leav- 

 the land to grow to seeds, usually Russian Thistle, where this weed 

 grows it is not usually difficult to establish Blue Grama or western 

 YJheatgrass. This seems to be indicated by work on the Navajo Dis- 

 trict where adequate protection against stock has been given and by 

 contour work clone in eastern Colorado and New Mexico. 



*Koohia americana, Green Molly, is common in the Great Basin 

 and extends into southern Nevada end southern California in heavy 

 alkaline soils. It is a low shrub with a good root system but is 

 commonly found in sites where there is little trouble from erosion. 

 The forage value of green molly is rather low. It is, however, 

 browsed some by sheep and goats particularly. This plant may be 

 worthy of use in. programs of revegetation since it is more resistant 

 to alkali than the salt bushes and is superior as forage to 

 Sarcobatus, Dondia and Allenrolf ia. 



*Burotia l anat a, w'inter Fat, seems to be a bono of contention 

 between eu-ecologists and quasi-ecologists. But which is Eu- and 

 which is Quasi- remains for the Clements and the Weavers. Some 

 say it represents a climax type and others that it is a certain 

 sign of a depleted and overgrazed range, "whatever it is, sheep 

 and cattle like it and whenever it is ruthlessly overgrazed it 

 disappears from the range. Along with sagebrush, it cannot be 

 classed as a first-class erosion control plant. A -Mr. Thorley in 

 southern Utah who has an extensive winter-fat range, maintains that 

 winter fat should be heavily grazed during the winter and the bushes 



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