compos itae 



The light-grayish green shrubs bloom early and late, the yellow 

 blossoms appearing every month in the year in our southern valleys 

 and rooky draws. Frequently it forms almost pure stands over large 

 areas on alluvial fans at the mouths of canyons. It is extremely 

 drought resistant. In very dry years stock browse it severely. It 

 is, however, a starvation ration which is never touched when better 

 plants arc: ova liable. 



Wycthi a sca bra . This low sunflower-like composite has a 

 wide distribution in the Rocky Mountains from Hew IJexico to Wyoming 

 and Utah. It is, however, relatively rare, being found only in dry 



sandy places in the Juniper belt. The plant lias long, broad, green 

 shiny leaves coming out from, the base of the plant .and rather short 

 flower stalks with large flowers resembling those of the sunflower. 

 The plant is very harsh to the touch. It is, however, browsed to 

 some extent and has a good spreading root system making it an excel - 

 lend erosion control plant. 



Tetradymia inormis, Horse Bush, is a low, grayish composite 

 bush with bright yellow flowers, widely distributed in the foothills 

 of the Rocky Mountains and westward but extending south only into 

 northern Hew Mexico and northern Arizona* It Is abundant and con- 

 stitutes a fair ground cover on many dry sites. It is variously 

 reported as fair to poor sheep browse. Its use as a revegctation 

 plant should bo postponed until its palatability has been more care- 

 fully studied. The plant may even prove to be poisonous when con- 

 sumed in large quantities. The following species is definitely 

 known to be poisonous to stock. 



Tet rady mia axillaris, horse Bush, is a very we ak«»s teurarie d , 

 straggling shrub, always found in the protection of other shrubs. 

 It has bright, yellow flowers, very long spines and clusters of 

 plumose seeds. It is confined to extremely dry mesas in southern 

 Utah and northern Arizona, and is reported to be poisonous to stock. 

 The flowers are among the most fragrant in the desert and suggest 

 the possibility of their use in the manufacture of perfumery. There 

 are several other species of Tetradymia s in the west. They are 

 often confused with the rabbit bushes ( Chrysothamnus) . With these 

 they must be considered generally speaking, as undesirable shrubs. 



Franseria dumosa, White Bur Sage, is a low desert shrub 

 which forms pure stands over very large areas in the Mohave Desert 

 from California to Utah and Arizona and south into Mexico. It has 

 whitish bark and grayish green leaves which are quite finely divided. 

 It is heavily browsed throughout its range and since it forms pure 

 stands it is unquestionably a valuable erosion control plant. It 

 will not, however, grow in anything but the warmest portion of our 

 range . 



