Feb. 16,1914 
Indicator Significance of Vegetation 
395 
recumbent, twisted branches, while the bare ground between is subject 
to blowing. 
The prevailing color is a dull grayish brown, turning to reddish brown 
in autumn. Plants growing in depressions, where the moisture condi¬ 
tions are exceptionally favorable, have a bluish hue. Viewed from a 
short distance the association gives the impression of extreme monotony 
and lifelessness. 
The distribution of the plants is indicated in figure 8, which repre¬ 
sents a quadrat 10 meters square, in a typical portion of this asso¬ 
ciation. Where the 
conditions are most 
favorable, the plants 
have a fairly vigorous 
appearance and cover 
somewhat more than 
half the ground, the 
stand being frequently 
more dense than is 
usually the case in the 
sagebrush association. 
In much the greater 
part of the area, how¬ 
ever, the proportion 
of bare ground is 
greater and the plants 
seem to be having a 
hard struggle to main¬ 
tain life, many of their 
branches being dead 
or dying. (Pl.XLVII, 
fig. 1.) No other vege¬ 
tation in this valley 
gives the impression of 
being so nearly con¬ 
quered by the environment. Even the few species which grow on the 
salt flats have the appearance of finding their habitat more congenial. 
The associated species contribute scarcely at all to the general appear¬ 
ance of the association. Annuals are of very minor importance. The 
small shrubs of the family Composite which occur here and there are 
too few in number of individuals and are too much like the.shadscale in 
habit of growth and dullness of color to influence materially the aspect 
of the vegetation. Kochia vestita is associated with the shadscale in 
extensive areas where the vegetation appears otherwise typical of the 
present association. The much smaller size of the Kochia plants makes 
them inconspicuous. 
Fig. 8. —A representative io-meter quadrat of the shadscale association, 
showing the location of each individual plant of A triplex confertifolia 
(A), the only woody species present, and of Opuntia sp. { O ). The 
figures show the number of main stems and, hence, indicate the size 
of the plant. A circle around the letter indicates that the plant is 
dead. Seedlings of Atriplex are indicated by the small a. The an¬ 
nual grass Bromus (not indicated on the quadrat) was very abun¬ 
dant around the Atriplex bushes. 
