OLEACEAE 



work may prove to "bo a worth while erosion control shrub in the east- 

 ern portion of cur region. 



♦Forestiera n c o -me x i c an a . Considerable attention has been 

 paid to our New Hexicb Wild OTive because it forms dense clumps and 

 its branches root readily where they bend over and touch the ground. 

 It has considerable erosion control value but generally grows in 

 scattered clumps instead of stands, thus preventing it from playing 

 a very important part. Occasionally it is found in the beds of 

 washes where floods have flattened out the trunks and branches. Here 

 it sprouts abundantly and forms effective gully plugs. It grows 

 quite readily from cuttings but since seed is produced abundantly 

 and germinates readily, the cutting method has been abandoned in our 

 nurseries. This raid olive is sometim.es browsed, ever: heavily, but 

 it is always when stock have been starved to it. Apparently nothing 

 has been done with the fruit to determine its oil content. It is 

 possible, even probable, that the berries are rich in oil and since 

 they are frequently produced in great abundance the plant may have 

 some economic importance other than that of erosion control. 



Forestier a phillyreoides. This Wild Olive has a very limited 

 range in our territory, going confined to the extreme southern and 

 western portions of Arizona. It is highly probable, however, that 

 its range can be considerably extended since it grows well up in the 

 Baboquivari Mountains where it gets quite cold. It is a handsome 

 small tree often found in small dense thickets which shade out all 

 underbrush and the lower limbs of the trees leave clean boles and 

 a dense canopy above. In contrast to the ITow Iiexico wild olive this 

 drops its fruits about as soon as they ripen. It grows readily from 

 seeds and for this reason cuttings have not been tried. The wood of 

 this, which is very hard, may be of some economic use as well as the 

 berries. 



Fraxinus spp. Our Southwestern Ash trees differ so much from 

 each other that they cannot be well compered. Gome are very small 

 trees while some are large enough to be considered excellent shade 

 trees or even to furnish wood and small dimension lumber though 

 apparently they are never used for the latter. 



♦Fraxinus anomala, Single-leafed Ash, is a small tree which 

 grows in abundance but not in pure or dense stands in southern Utah 

 and northern Arizona in extremely dry sites on rocky slopes. It 

 can readily be recognized by its single leaflet to a leaf, in con- 

 trast to the others with three to several leaflets. It is a fair 

 soil binder and a good browse plant. 



Fraxin us cu sp i d ata, Flowering Ash, should perhaps be classed 

 as a soil erosion control plant. It, however, forms thickets (grow- 

 ing singly at times) and may have some value for erosion control. 



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