PAPILIOiTACEAE 



west to Utah. In Colorado and ITyoming it is frequently quite abun- 

 dant and constitutes a fair erosion control plant. It is, however, 

 listod among the weeds that are known to be poisonous and for this 

 reason should not be considered in a revegetation program. 



Crotalaria l upulina , Rattle '..'eed, has been suggested for a 

 leguminous ground cover and nurse crop. V.'ith a little rainfall it 

 makes a rapid growth, especially along sandy washes. It is quite 

 palatable to stock, ".e have not used it in the nursery or on our 

 observational plots up to the present. Seed is easily collected by 

 hand. 



*Trif olium fr agif erum is the Strawberry Clover recently intro- 

 duced through the Agricultural Experiment Station in Colorado to the 

 west. It is reported to be a very excellent clover for damp, alkali 

 ground. The small planting at Albuquerque is doing excellently. Thus 

 far it has nob been tried on the open range. It requires too much 

 moisture for use except in selected sites in moist alkali regions. 



*Tri" oliu m brandegii is the Spruce Clover of southern Colorado. 

 It is confined to the relatively high mountains in the belt of the 

 spruces or just below it. According to Mr. Mann of the ^ v io Grande 

 Project, Soil Conservation Service, this is a wonder plant as a soil 

 binder and as forage in the mountains of southern Colorado. We plan 

 to try this in the nursery at Albuquerque as soon as seeds or plants 

 can be obtained. 



Lotus spp., Deer Clover. This genus includes many of our very 

 important erosion control and forage plants. It must be remembered 

 also that they are legumes, and legumes must hold a vital place in 

 any program of soil rehabilitation. There are numerous species in 

 the southwest. Some of them are annuals of very little importance 

 except for wildlife, while others are deep rooted perennials which 

 are active in Controlling soil erosion* Among the very common ones 

 are L. ri gidus , L. greenei, and L. iongibr acte atus. All of these 

 are perennials. Tie first, L, rigi dus, is common on dry rocky slo- 

 pes of the southwestern ranges. It is rather stiff and almost 

 leafless. In general appearance it resembles a shrub. The top, 

 however, dies down during the winter. While it is an important for- 

 age plant, it is less palatable than many of the others and its root 

 and crown habit do not recommend it so highly for erosion control. 

 This and the other species are important bird food plants. 



*Lotu s wrightji has a much wider general distribution than L. 

 rigidus. It is an important erosion control and forage plant on 

 dry slopes in the Kaibab Region of Arizona, in the Hogollon Plateau, 

 the mountains and plains about Prescott end Kingman, Arizona, the 

 mountains about Cedar City, Utah, and those of southern Hew Mexico. 



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