ROSACEA?] 



*Prunus watsoni , .'/atson Sand Plum. Up to 1935 v. r e Miere unable 

 to obtain seeds of this valuable plum. It is found in the sand dune 

 region of eastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma and Texas in very dry 

 sixes. It is an excellent sand binder and is prized locally for 

 its fruits. It is a good sheep browse. It has long horizontal roots 

 which sprout freely. There are se\ r eral hybrids, some of which are 

 probably offered by nurserymen under other names. 



*Purshia tridentata. This shrub is known by ranchers and 

 stockmen as Bitter Bush. The fruits when ripe are as bitter as 

 quinine and the flavor is as lasting. Taste with cows seems a bit 

 diff erect from that with man for this bush is relished by all kinds 

 of stock. Occasional plants are found in the hills about Gallup, 

 New Mexico, and it becomes more common farther north. In southern 

 Colorado there aro almost pure stands of it on some of the steep 

 slopes and flats. Above Bryce Canyon in Utah, flats are carpeted 

 with it. It extends far beyond our range in the Rockies and in the 

 Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, It grows typically in asso- 

 ciation with yellow pine but extends well down in the Pinon and 

 Juniper type. Its prostrate habit, combined with its ability to 

 root on the layers, make it an excellent erosion control plant. It 

 is also very drought resistant. It can be recommended for more 

 general use in the Navajo region and in Utah. 



Ame lanchier sop. We have several species of Service-berries 

 in the southwest and doubtless they should receive a more careful 

 treatment than is given here. In certain desert regions as in the 

 dry rocky foothills in southern Utah and northern Arizona, service- 

 berry bushes arc rather abundant or. sites whore few ether shrubs 

 or trees can exist. The over present associate is the juniper and 

 the combination is a bad one as one of the juniper apple diseases 

 is almost always present and. at times very damaging to both Service- 

 berry and Juniper. Other serviceberrios are less xerophytic, that 

 is they require more moisture and still others grow only on shaded 

 north slopes or in canyons. Junipers in all cases are not very 

 distant. The fruit of the servicebcrry is almost o.s variable as 

 the sites. Certain species produce quite pulpy, tasty fruit, (if 

 perchance you do not enjoy it walk a few miles further without a 

 lunch), while others produce fruit so dry and insipid as to be 

 valueless. Frequently, too, the fruits are mere masses of the 

 fungus which causes the Juniper apple disease. From the stand- 

 point of erosion control and as wildlife plants, the serviceber- 

 rios are excellent. Their habit, however, of harboring the Juni- 

 per apple disease should greatly limit their use, 



Chamaeb at lar ia mil lefol ium or Fern Bush, is widely distri- 

 buted throughout the west. It is, however, limited in its 



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