PAPILIONACEAE 



drought resistant and in spite of many reports to the contrary, it 

 is fairly good forage. Horses and mules particularly, give no evi- 

 dence that they object to the thorny character of the plant and eat 

 it with avidity. One farmer near Joseph City, Arizona, showed a 

 large area of this -to one of our seed collectors and went to some 

 length to explain what a wonderful plant it was as a stock food. He 

 did not know the plant or surmise that thousands of dollars were 

 being spent to eradicate it in California. At. the present time its 

 use is not to be advocated oven under restricted conditions. 



Peteria sc oparia is a leguminous plant with the habit very 

 much like that of the camel thorn. It is nowhere abundant, being 

 reported only from eastern How Mexico and adjacent territory, and 

 recently from the Petrified Forest in Arizona. It is not impossiblo 

 that with e. little human encouragement it might be of value as a 

 sand binder. 



^oursetia g landulosa is a tall shrub with abundant white to 

 yellowish pea flowers and rather snail pinnate leaves. It is us- 

 ually found growing in dense clumps. This is confined in our range 

 to canyons and dry rocky slopes in southern Arizona at altitudes of 

 3,000-5,000 foot. It is a fair erosion control shrub, is quite 

 heavily browsed and con be grown readily in the nursery from cuttings. 



Rob inia pscu do-acac ia , the common Black Locust, is not native 

 in our region but has been extensively introduced in all but the war- 

 most sections. Formerly it was used for woodlots and shade trees in 

 eastern Hew Mexico, more extensively than at present although the 

 species is still used for street plantings in most of the towns and • 

 cities. The trees are rapid-growing whero water is available, very 

 drought resistant and not subject to diseases. The borer, however, 

 damages the trees seriously and frequently discourages ranchers 

 from planting this species. Special strains arc gradually replac- 

 ing the more common types. The Shipmast Locust is one of those* 

 It has not come into use in Region 3 but is being used in Soil 

 Conservation Service work in the cast quite extensively. The Hill— 

 culture Section of the Soil Conservation Service has done special 

 work with the Black Locust. At present it is having remarkable 

 success in growing locust hardwood cuttings after treating them with 

 growth harmones. This method should make the propagation of desir- 

 able selections easy. It is hoped that the same or a similar treat- 

 ment can bo applied to propagating other trees and shrubs. 



Hob i nia ngo -me x i c ana , Hew Mexico Black Locust, This small, 

 very thorny tree is not uncommon in the mountains In the southwost. 

 Frequently north-facing slopes have almost pure stands. This is 

 true on the mountains north of Raton, Hew Mexico; on the north side 

 of Hose Peak on the Coronado Trail, Arizona; and the slopes of 



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