BUXACEAE 



nuts arc caton raw or parched and used for making coffeo and other 

 nutritious drinks. 



Recently the ' Simmondsia has been suggested as a commercial 

 crop for the Pima and Papago Indians. It is being investigated by 

 commercial companies to ■ ascertain the oil available and uses for 

 it. 



The seed germinates quite readily but the plants are rather 

 slow-growing at first. Since it is dioecious only a portion of the 

 bushes bear. Some work has been done at the Boyce-Thompson ITursery 

 at Superior, Arizona, in growing the bush under cultivation. Results 

 have been satisfactory. This nursery has also sent nuts away to 

 have them treated, V/hen the tannin is removed the nuts arc tasty 

 and wholesome. A problem facing the Bureau of Plant Industry should 

 be to learn how to propagate selections made by our seed collectors 

 and others so that plants of superior quality can be used at least 

 for experimental and commercial plantings in the future. 



AITACARD IACEAE 



*Rhus cismontana. This is our common Sumac of the southwest. 



It is confined to relatively high altitudes along streams or on 

 moist slopes in the yellow pine type, and extends slightly below 

 this zone. It forms thickets, new plants springing up from long 

 horizontal roots and very effectively holds the soil. It is value- 

 less as forage and limited in soil erosion control value because of 

 the soil, moisture and altitude requirements. "Where it is suitable, 

 however, it is a plant of high merit. 



♦Rhus microph ylla, the Small-leafed Sumac, is abundant in the 

 foothills about Socorro and to the south and west. The bushes are 

 commonly larger than the squaw bush and arc often almost tree-like 

 with less tendency to spread out at the base. It is comparable to 

 the squaw bush in erosion control value. It is browsed slightly and 

 the berries arc used the sa?no as those of the squaw bush by the 

 Indians. It is easy to handle in the nursery but must be grown from 

 seed. 



♦Rhus trilobata, the Squaw Bush, is widely distributed in the 

 Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains. Its 

 various forms extend from low altitudes to quite high altitudes. 

 It is not a good forage plant though it is a starvation ration for 

 sheep and goats. It grows singly or forms thickets of considerable 

 size. Frequently it is sufficiently abundant on steep slopes to 

 constitute the chief factor in erosion control. In the "White Sands 

 of Rev/ Mexico this becomes covered in dunes and seems to be holding 

 the sand but where the wind begins to cut around the base, the bases 

 arc loft high and dry with naked roots holding the bushes in mid-air, 



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