C0R1TACEAE 



upon ripening unless the color is obscured by the thick covering of 

 hairs. These shrubs are valueless for forage and because of their 

 upright habit not particularly suitable for soil binders. 



Oarrya f lavoscons , probably the best one of the group, would 

 make an interesting addition to shrub arboreta. The nost common one 

 in the southwest is G. wrightii. 



Comus stolonif era is the common stream Dogwood of the west. 

 It is widely distributed and very abundant along mountain streams. 

 The branches bend over and often became tangled masses. These are 

 not infrequently the consternation of the fisherman* These shrubs 

 are good stream bank binders bi.it who re they will grow they arc usu- 

 ally present and as they are neither drought nor alkali resistant, 

 they are of little or no value in any of our work as now formulated. 



ERICACEAE 



* Arctostaphylos pungons is the common Manzanite of the south- 

 west. It forms almost pure stands at medium altitudes in many places 

 throughout New Mexico and Arizona and extends into California, Utah, 

 Colorado and Mexico. It occasionally reaches almost tree dimensions 

 but has such a spreading habit that it is always bush-like. In the 

 extreme southwest it occasionally reaches a height of twenty feet 

 or more and a single plant may spread fifty feet. Where the pros- 

 trate branches touch the ground they root freely, making this shrub 

 one of our best erosion control plants, bp to the present it has 

 not been grown successfully from cuttings and seed germination is 

 very unsatisfactory. It is more than likely, however, that the 

 possibilities of this shrub for our use have not been exhausted. 

 Its growth habits should warrant extensive and careful work in its 

 propatagion and even in the selection of rapid-growing and vigorous 

 strains. Y'Jhile the leaves of the nanzanites are not extensively 

 eaten the fruits which are produced in abundance constitute the main 

 food for wildlife during extensive- periods. Turkeys in northern 

 Mexico grow fat on the berries and foxes and bears are fond of them. 



Arctostaphylos patula. While this species docs not occur 

 in Region 8 it should be discussed here becaiise of its pronounced 

 value as an erosion control plant and because of its economic value 

 for fuel. It covers very wide areas of loose volcanic soil in 

 California, particularly on Mt. Shasta. When fires sweep over the 

 region the crewns and roots remain uninjured and continue to hold 

 the soil. Locally the crowns are dug out or chopped out and used 

 for fuel. 



1 



Ar c t o gtaphyl o s platyphyll a is abundant in our region only in 

 southern Utah. It is the common Manzanite in Zion National Park. 



