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Salt Desert Shrub Location
Primarily in the Great basin
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Salt Desert Shrub
Composed of a large group of small basins separated by fault block mountain ranges (>150 such areas) scattered throughout the sagebrush grassland area
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Salt Desert Shrub - Vegetation
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Salt Desert Shrub - Vegetation Key Characteristics
•Chenopodiaceae - •Climax – mostly a single species
- •Climax – edaphic climax
- •Controlling factors: salts (concentrations), water table
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Salt Desert Shrub - Climate
Generally drier than the Sagebrush Grassland (also a little warmer) - •Precipitation is approximately 4-8”
- •Distribution: 50-60% in winter, 30-40% in fall, 10-20% in summer
- •Winters are cold, summers are hot with high daily fluctuations in summer
- •Salt desert shrub occurs under conditions hotter, drier, and saltier than sagebrush grasslands
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Saltgrass
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Distichlis spicata
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Distichlis spicata - Identification
- •Inflorescense: dioecious, panicle
- •spikelets in narrow contracted panicles
- •The male inflorescense is larger than the female inflorescence
- •Leaves stiff, sharp pointed, and coarse when mature
- •Rhizomatous
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Distichlis spicata - Plant Attributes
- Warm Season Grass
- Poor seed production, reproduction mostly vegetative
- Long roots that are relatively shallow (<16")
- Plants extrude salts through salt glands in the leaves
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Distichlis spicata - Forge Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Livestock generally avoid eating mature saltgrass (harsh, wiry, and tough)
- Exception re-growth
- Low to fair palatability to livestock and wildlife
- Seeds eaten by waterfowl and small mammals
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Distichlis spicata - Drought/ Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Drought: high drought and flood tolerance
- Grazing: grazing tolerant, highly resistant to trampling
- Fire: Deep rhizomes are insulated from heat, may not destroy seeds in the seedbank
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Alkali sacaton
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Sporobolus airoides
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Sporobolus airoides - Identification
- Inflorescense: spreading pyramidal panicle, 1 floret per spikelet
- Robust woody base
- Leaves inrolled and large
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Sporobolus airoides - Plant Attributes
- Warm Season Grass
- Reproduction from seed and tillering
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Sporobolus airoides - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Eaten by many classes of livestock and wildlife
- Palatability is good for cattle, horses and sheep, but fair to poor for elk and deer
- Cover for wildlife is fair to good for small mammals and birds, and poor for large mammals
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Sporobolus airoides - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire
- Very drought, flooding and salinity (but less than saltgrass) tolerant
- High water use efficiency
- Tolerant to moderate to light grazing
- Tolerant but not resistant to fire (killed by severe fire)
- 2 - 4 year recovery time following fire
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Sand Dropseed
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Sporobolus cryptandrus
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Sporobolus cryptandrus - Identification
- Inflorescense: base of panicle enclosed in the sheath, short lateral branches (pedicles) on panicle
- Hair on collar
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Sporobolus cryptandrus - Plant Attributes
- Warm Season grass
- Shallow rooting species ( fine- fibrous) that form dense mat
- Prolific seed producer
- Established rapidly on disturbed sites (early seral species). Quickly colonizes an area.
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Sporobolus cryptandrus - Forage Quality, Palatability and Cover
- Provides good to fair forage for livestock
- Extended green period
- Plants are palatable when green, but decline with maturity
- Provides fair to good cover for small mammals and birds
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Sporobolus cryptandrus - Drought/ Stress, Fire Tolerance
- Drought resistant
- Plant consumed by fire (badly damaged to killed)
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Indian Ricegrass
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Stipa hymenoides
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Stipa hymenoides - Identification
Inflorescense: Panicle, dichotomous branching, blumes with points, lemma pubescent, large seed
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Stipa hymenoides - Plant Attributes
- Cool season bunchgrass
- Deep, fibrous, extensive root system
- Spreads "aggressively" from seed with wet conditions
- Mid - seral species
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Stipa hymenoides - Forage quality, palatability, and cover
- •Provides good to excellent forage for livestock and wildlife
- •Used heavily by livestock in late winter when succulent, green leaves are produced as well as spring and summer (cures well)
- •Moderate use by pronghorn, high use by elk, deer and bison
- •High rodent and jackrabbit consumption
- •Fair to poor cover for small mammals and birds
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Stipa hymenoides - Drought/ Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Most drought tolerant native range grasses
- Decreaser species
- Low tolerance to heavy grazing
- Re-establishes rapidly with seed
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Russian Thistle
- Family: Chenopodiaceae
- Scientific Name: Salsola iberica
- Origin: Introduced
- Life Span: Annual
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Salsola iberica - Habitat
- Distribution: Widely distributed throughout the U.S. Native of Russia
- Plant Communities: semi-arid regions, grasslands, desert ecosystems
- Soil Types: well-drained, non-compacted soils. Cannot tolerate saturated soil. Does best in alkaline or saline conditions
- Location: alkali flats, playas, roadsides, disturbed areas
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Salsola iberica - Identification
- Size highly variable
- Leaves : stiff & spine tipped, young leaves long narrow and spine tipped, old leaves short and spine tipped, stem red striped
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Salsola iberica - Plant Attributes
- Warm season forb
- Produces at taproot that can extend 1m with extensive lateral roots (depending on competition)
- Highly successful reproducer (250,000 seeds, viable for 1 year)
- Dispersal aided with winged seed
- Plants dominate after disturbance, but become shorter and less dense with increasing competition
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Salsola iberica - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Eaten by cattle and sheep when young
- Important food source for small mammals and birds (quail)
- Palatability depends on time of year
- Provides fair nutrition
- Animals can develop mouth ulcers
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Salsola iberica - Drought/ Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- High water use efficiency
- Avoid drought, grows fast
- Alkaline & saline tolerance
- invader species
- may increase due to decreased competition
- High speed production allows rapid invasion from nearby seed sources
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Fourwing saltbush
- Family/ Tribe: Chenopodiaceae
- Scientific Name: Atriplex canescens
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Atriplex canescens - Identification
- Inflorescense: dioecious, fruit with 4 notched papery wings
- Leaves: long liner, alternate, fasciculated, silver-green
- Branches stiff to 3' tall
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Atriplex canescens - Plant Attributes
- Warm season shrub
- Deep taproot (20')
- Extreme genetic diversity across geographic and elevation gradients
- Highly used in revegetation projects
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Atriplex canescens - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Provides year round forage for livestock and wildlife
- Important in winter and during dormancy periods
- One of the most palatable shrubs in the west
- Nutritious forage for all classes
- good cover for small mammals and birds
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Atriplex canescens - Drought/stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Highly tolerant of drought, salinity and alkalinity
- Adapted to grazing
- Showing compensatory growth following defoliation
- May decline with very heavy grazing
- Fire resistant in comparison with most shrub
- May resprout following fire
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Shadescale
- Family/Tribe: Chenopodiaceae
- Scientific Name: Atriplex confertifolia
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Ariplex confertifolia - Identification
- •Inflorescense: fruit does not have prominent wings
- •Leaves ovate to roundish, some resemble fish scales
- •Some branches end in spines
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Atriplex confertifolia - Plant Attributes
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Ariplex confertifolia - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
•Valuable forage species for livestock and wildlife - •Nutritious palatable species for deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, rodents, rabbits, and songbirds
- •Decrease in shadscale was followed by a decrease in rodents and subsequently golden eagles
- •Eaten by sheep and cattle, but not eaten when spiny limbs are exposed
- •Provides good cover for small mammals and birds (brewers sparrows, sage sparrows, sage thrashers)
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Atriplex confertifolia - Drought/stress, Grazing, Fire tolerance
- Very drought tolerant (4-8: precip zone)
- Spinescent habit lends to browsing tolerance
- Reduced competition with other species increases density/cover
- Intolerant for fire (top killed)
- Does not recover rapidly from fire
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Greasewood
- Family/Tribe: Chenopodiaceae
- Scientific Name: Sarcobatus vermiculatus
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Sarcobatus vermiculatus - Identification
- •Leaves narrow and tapering (filiform, fleshy)
- •Branches scraggly, shiny, spiny
- •Branches often at right angles to main stem
- •Younger stems whitish, old stems dark
- •Leaves wrinkled when dry
- •Monoecious shrub
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Sarcobatus vermiculatus - Plant Attributes
- Warm season shrub
- Forms clones creating large clump of plants
- Regeneration by seed and sprouts (clones)
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Sarcobatus vermiculatus - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
•Important browse for sheep, cattle, and large ungulate wildlife species (especially during winter) - •Fair palatability, but does have high salt and potassium oxalate (can cause death in sheep and cows that eat large amounts)
•Provides excellent cover for deer, pronghorn, small mammals and birds
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Sarcobatus vermiculatus - Drought/stress, grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Very drought and salt tolerant
- Very grazing tolerant (increaser)
- Top-killed, but resprouts quickly after fire
- Increase in abundance and vigor following fire
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Winterfat
- Family/Tribe: Chenopodiaceae
- Scientific Name: Ceratoides lanata
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
- Other names: Krascheninnikovia lanata, Eurotia lanata
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Ceratoides lanata - Identification
- •Inflorescense: Monoecious, stamenate terminal and pistillate axillary
- •Leaves and twigs wooly, silver gray or dense red in color
- •Leaves with prominent midribs
- •Suffrutescent to woody
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Ceratoides lanata - Plant Attributes
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Ceratoides lanata - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
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Ceratoides lanata - Drought/Stess, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Very drought tolerant
- Decreaser species
- Late winter or early spring grazing can be detrimental
- Plants are tolerant of moderate fire
- Top burned by high intensity fire
- High sprouting following moderate fire and seed are not destroyed
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Mormon tea
- Family/Tribe: Ephedraceae
- Scientific Name: Ephedra trifurca
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Ephedra trifurca - Identification
- •Erect shrub, branches nearly smooth, spine tipped and pale green
- •Leaves reduced to scales, whorled in groups of three
- •Stems jointed
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Ephedra trifurca - Plant Attributes
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Ephedra trifurca - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
•Browse for deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and livestock (primarily cattle) - •Palatability is fair, forage value is low
- •Provides good to fair cover for deer, pronghorn, small mammals and birds
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Ephedra trifurca - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Very, very, drought tolerant
- Very grazing tolerant
- Topkilled by fire
- Survival depends on intensity
- Some resprouting capability
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Black sage
- Family/Tribe: Asteraceae
- Scientific Name: Artemisia nova
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Artemisia nova - Identification
- •Inflorescense: flower stalks persistent (1-3 years), Flowers golden brown
- •Leaves: margins dip inward near the apex, giving a bell-shaped appearance, Deep green color, black glands on surface
- •Decumbent branches from spreading base
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Artemisia nova - Plant attributes
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Artemisia nova - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
•Important browse species in the Intermountain region - •Valuable winter feed on snow-free rangelands
- •Can be lethal to sheep if consumed in bulk over a short time. Can cause lamb abortion
- •Highly palatability to sheep and large ungulate wildlife species (pronghorn, mule deer)
- •Good cover for small mammals and birds
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Artemisia nova - Drought/stress, fire tolerance
- Drought tolerant
- Plant are easily killed by fire and do not resprout
- Sparse vegetation in stands dominated by Arno precludes fire occurrence
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Bud sage
- Family/Tribe: Asteraceae
- Scientific Name: Artemisia spinescens
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Artemisia spinescens- Identification
- •Inflorescense: old flowering branches persistent as spines
- •Leaves: 3-5 parted, clustered (bud appearance), tip rounded
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Artemisia spinescens - Plant Attributes
- Cool season shrub, summer deciduous
- Early seral to climax species
- Pungently aromatic
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Artemisia spinescens - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
•Good forage for upland birds, small mammals, large ungulate wildlife species and domestic sheep - •Can be fatal to cows and calves when eaten in large quantities or eaten alone
- •Entire plant may be browsed back by jackrabbits
- •Provides little cover to wildlife. Fair cover for small mammals and birds
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Artemisia spinescens - Drought/stress, grazing, fire Tolerance
- Drought tolerant
- High palatability in spring during new growth makes plants susceptible
- Plants are killed by fire
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Pacific bunchgrass region - Distirbution
- Open-timbered or untimbered areas of the west. Typical: Montana , Idaho, Oregon
- Characteristic species: Bluebunch wheatgrass (Elymus spicatus), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis)
- Other associated species: sideoats grama (later), Koeleria macrantha, shrubs typical of the sagebrush grassland (non dominant), forbs
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Pacific bunchgrass region - Characteristics
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Mulesears
- Family/Tribe: Asteraceae
- Scientific Name: Wyethia amplexicaulis
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Wyethia amplexicaulis - Identification
- •Inflorescense: Heads solitary, large and showy, Ray flowers with long (2-5 cm), yellow
- •Leaves: Alternate, Simple, blades oblong-lanceolate, very large, surface glossy and strongly veined
- •Stems rarely branched
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Wyethia amplexicaulis - Plant Attributes
•Cool season forb - •Thick taproot
- •Regeneration by seed and from underground root stalks or from root crown
- •May occur in large, dense stands
- •Competitive forb
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Wyethia amplexicaulis - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
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Wyethia amplexicaulis - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Drought intolerant
- Increaser with high intensity grazing
- Topkilled by fire
- Fire increases plant density
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Storksbill or filaree
- Family/Tribe: Geraniaceae
- Scientific Name: Erodium cicutarium
- Origin: Introduced
- Life Span: Annual
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Erodium cicutarium - Identification
- •Inflorescense: Umbel, petals 5, pink,
- Fruits: stand erect at base of bent pedicels.
- •Leaves: opposite, compound, glandular pubescent
- •Hairy stem
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Erodium cicutarium - Plant Attributes
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Erodium cicutarium - Forage Quality, Palatability
•Seasonal forage for livestock and wildlife - •Important food for rodents, desert tortoise, big game, upland birds
- •Good to excellent palatability
- •Seeds are highly palatable to rodents
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Erodium cicutarium - Drought/Stress, Grazing Tolerance
- Prefers full sun but tolerates some shade
- Increases with high intensity grazing
- Establishes in overgrazed sites
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Tailcup lupine
- Family/Tribe: Fabaceae
- Scientific Name: Lupinus caudatus
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Lupinus caudatus - ID
- •Inflorescense: Terminal racemes
- •Leaves: Alternate, Palmately compound
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Lupinus caudatus - Plant Attributes
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Lupinus caudatus - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
•Moderate forage quality for livestock and wildlife - •Moderate consumption by elk, deer, pronghorn, upland birds, small mammals
- •Utilized by sheep, horses and cattle
- •Highly toxic to livestock, especially sheep (alkaloids)
- •sheep poisoned with .13 to .25 pounds per day for 3-4 days (1-1.5 for cows)
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Desert Grassland Region - Location
- S.E. Arizona, S. New Mexico, S.W. Texas
- 1000-2000 m elevation
- found in basins, sloping drainages, or on lower slopes of mountain ranges
- arid of grasslands in US (mean rainfall 9-18"; 250 -500 mm)
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Desert Grassland - Vegetation
- grow and set seed rapidly when it rains
- dominants grow during later half of summer
- dominated by warm season species
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Black grama
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Bouteloua eriopoda
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Bouteloua eriopoda - Identification
- •Inflorescense: Spikes 3-5 per culm, awns as long or longer than spikelets
- •Culms white-lanate, mostly decumbent or stoloniferous
- •Foliage mostly basal
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Bouteloua eriopoda - Plant Attributes
- warm season grass
- well developed fibrous root system
- regeneration primarily by tillering and stolons (slow spread rate)
- poor seed production since most spikelets produce sterile florets
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Bouteloua eriopoda - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- •Excellent forage for all classes of livestock and wildlife
- •Highly palatable forage
- •One of the most nutritious desert grasses for livestock
- •High protein content, especially when young
- •Low cover value due to small size
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Bouteloua eriopoda - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Drought tolerant
- adapted to sandy soils
- decreaser, vigor extremely impaired with heavy grazing
- under heavy grazing, low stolon production
- fire sensitive
- slow recover by vegetative spread
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Tobosa grass
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Hilaria mutica
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Hilaria mutica - ID
- •Inflorescense: Spike; Hairy around the spikelets, base of floret
- hairy; Glumes translucent and flabellate
- •Strongly rhizomatous, not stoloniferous
- •Nodes pubescent
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Hilaria mutica - Plant Attributes
- Warm season grass
- sod-forming species that creates dense pure stands
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Hilaria mutica - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Good Forage (especailly when young)
- forage by cattle, horses, sheep, pronghorn and deer
- restricted to late spring and summer
- plants unused when dry in late summer/fall. fire helps management
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Hilaria mutica - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- drought tolerant
- adapted to fine-clayey soil. tolerates soil cracking
- grazing tolerant (increaser)
- removing old growth by fire or grazing makes it more palatable
- recover quickly with vegetative growth
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Mesquite
- Family: Fabaceae
- Scientific Name: Prosopis glandulosa
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Prosopis glandulosa - ID
- •Inflorescense:
- Flowers in drooping spike-like racemes,
- Long linear fruit (10-20 cm) legume, in clusters 2-3
- •Leaves pinnate compound, alternate with 6-30 leaflets
- •Branches armed with straight yellow thorns, usually in pairs
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Prosopis glandulosa - Plant Attributes
- •Warm season shrub
- •Deciduous
- •along floodplains and water courses (water access)
- •Taproot that may exceeds 15 m extracting high volumes of water.
- •Nitrogen fixing bacteria
- •Regeneration seed and basal sprouts
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Prosopis glandulosa - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Foliage not consumed (only during drought)
- Fruit is excellent forage for livestock and wildlife (fall)
- Food base (july to august) consumed by rodents, birds, porcupines, raccoons, peccary, deer, turkey
- seed pods are highly palatable (sweet; sugar and proteins)
- Provides excellent cover for all classes
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Prosopis glandulosa - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- competitive plant species
- avoids drought by shedding leaves
- increases with grazing. seed dispersed by animals.
- low mortality following fire
- plants topkilled, but resprout vigorously
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Creosotebush
- Family: Zygophyllaceae
- Scientific Name: Larrea tridentata
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Larrea tridentata - ID
- •Leaves: opposite and bifoliate, surface dark green glossy, resinous, fused at the base
- •Evergreen
- •Nodes dark and swollen
- •Not well defined trunk
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Larrea tridentata - Plant Attributes
- Cool season shrub
- caliche layer limits root growth
- regeneration from seed and sprouting
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Larrea tridentata - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- low forage quality
- small mammals eat seeds
- food source for jackrabbits (chew bark for water)
- unpalatable to livestock
- high content of chemical compounds (anti-herbivory)
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Larrea tirdentata - Drought/Stress, Grazing Tolerance
- high drought tolerant
- tolerates alkaline soils (caliche)
- re-sprouting allows for vigorous establishment
- tends to dominate overgrazed areas
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Burrograss
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Scleropogon brevifolius
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Scleropogon brevifolius - ID
- •Dioecious
- •3 awns on female lemma (5-19 cm)
- •Staminate lemma awn tipped
- •Culms erect, wiry stolons
- •Leaves crowded at the base, blades flat, sharp-pointed
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Scleropogon brevifolius - Plant attributes
- warm season grass
- mat-forming species
- abundance of this species is potential sign of disturbance or deteriorated range condition
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Scleropogon brevifolius - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Low forage value
- low palatability (long awns of female plants and harsh leaves)
- low cover value for wildlife
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Scleropogon brevifolius - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire
- tolerant of alkaline or saline soil conditions
- increaser species
- vegetative regeneration following fire
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Arizona cottontop
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Digitaria californica
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Digitaria californica - ID
- •Inflorescense: Panicle of alternating racemes, spikelets covered with long silky hairs
- •Culms erect from knotty swollen pubescent bases
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Digitaria californica - Plant Attributes
- Warm season grass
- divided and branched root system
- reproduction by seed
- important member of climax communities
- wet sites, may form almost pure stands
- plants go dormant during dry period
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Digitaria claifornica - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Valuable forage species (winter)
- Palatability is high for livestock and fair for wildlife
- Plants cure well with age, remain palatable throughout the year
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Digitaria californica - Drought/ Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Low drought to tolerance
- tend to grow in wetter places
- decreaser species
- intermediate susceptibility to fire
- growing points at or just below the ground level
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Weeping lovegrass
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Eragrostis curvula
- Origin: Introduced
- Life Span: Perennial
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Eragrostis curvula - ID
- •Large open panicle, eventually drooping
- •Tuft of hair on the lowest panicle branches of the central axis
- •Long tapering leaves
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Eragrostis curvula - Plant Attributes
- Warm season grass
- extensive fibrous root system
- tillering occurs outward forming ring-like growth
- reproduction by seed (no rhizomes or stolons)
- establish on disturbed soil and persists in open grassland
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Eragrostis curvula - Forage quality, palatability, and cover
- fair forage for livestock, poor for wildlife
- pasture grass
- palatable in spring
- unpalatable after flowering
- provides poor cover/habitat
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Eragrostis curvula - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- adapted to summer rainfall
- grazing tolerant (increaser)
- topkilled by fire
- deep roots and dense crown protect it from fire
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Bush muhly
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Muhlenbergia porteri
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Muhlenbergia perteri - ID
- •Panicle open, much branched, wiry, knotty base
- •One floret per spikelet
- •Lemma purple with a delicate awn
- •Crooked culms (geniculate), branched culms
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Muhlenbergia porteri - Plant attributes
- warm season grass
- regeneration by seed
- climax species
- frequently growing under shrubs
- can remain green if moisture is available
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Muhlenbergia porteri - Forage Quality, Palatability and Cover
- Preferred forage
- biomass production low
- good to excellent palatability
- fair to good cover for small birds and mammals
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Muhlenbergia porteri - Drought/stress, grazing, fire tolerance
- drought resistant
- shade tolerant
- decreaser species
- heavy branching = heavy grazing
- topkilled fire: regenerates from crown and seed in seed bank
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Ring muhly
- Family/Tribe: Eragrosteae
- Scientific Name: Muhlenbergia torreyi
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Muhlenbergia torreyi - ID
- •Panicle open with capillary branches usually red to purplish
- •Blades shorter in basal cluster
- •Decumbent stems-curving upward from a horizontal or incline base with only the end ascending
- •Rhizomatous-short rhizomes
- •forming a mat like ring as the colony expands outward and dies in the center
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Muhlenbergia torreyi - Plant attributes
- warm season grass
- sod-forming (mat) plant
- ring growth occurs as the center dies out as the plant enlarges
- rings range in size from inches to feet
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Muhlenbergia torreyi - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- low forage value
- low forage production
- fair for livestock, poor to wildlife
- low palatability
- forage for prairie dogs
- low cover value
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Muhlenbergia torreyi - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire tolerance
- tolerates stress or disturbance conditions
- increaser species
- regeneration following fire from rhizomes, crown and seed
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Tanglehead
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Heteropogon contortus
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Heteropogon contortus - ID
- •Unilateral spikate raceme
- •Spikelets are imbricate
- •Awns 5-12 cm, brown-black, twice geniculated (bent)
- •Glumes with white margins
- •Leaf tip and base turn red at maturity
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Heteropogon contortus - Plant attributes
- warm season grass
- cespitose growth form
- regeneration by seed
- early successional species
- considered a noxious introduction in Cali.
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Heteropogon contortus - Forage Quality, Palatability, and cover
- fair to good forage
- fair cover for small mammals and birds
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Heteropogon contortus - Drought/Stress, grazing tolerance
- not as drought tolerant
- summertime moisture
- increaser grazing
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Red brome
- Family: Poaceae
- Scientific Name: Bromus rubens
- origin: Introduced
- Life Span: Annual
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Bromus rubens - ID
- •Congested panicle
- •Oval shape
- •Red throughout (when mature)
- •Spikelets rough to hairy, awns 18-22 mm long
- •Hairy sheath
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Bromus rubens - Plant Attributes
- Invader that establishes rapidly on disturbed sites
- forms monocultures the exclude other species
- traits that are comparable to cheatgrass
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Bromus rubens - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Provides fair forage in Oct. through the winter
- Forage value declines to poor during April
- Plants are avoided when mature
- Low Palatability (awns cause mouth, skin and eye irritations)
- Provides low cover (poor habitat)
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Bromus rubens - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- Salt Tolerant
- Cold Tolerant
- Invader
- Establishes on disturbed sites including heavily grazed areas
- Changes fire frequency
- Rapid recovery following fire
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Annual broomweed
- Family: Asteraceae
- Scientific Name: Amphiachyris dracunculoides
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Annual
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Amphiachyris dracunculoides - ID
- yellow flowers
- leaves: alternate, linear to eliptic, resinous
- shrub-like growth form
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Amphiachyris dracunculoides - Plant Attributes
- Warm season forb
- unbranched 1/2 of its height with straight stem
- flowers in mid summer
- found on disturbed sites
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Amphiachyris dracunculoides - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Not used as a forage species
- low forage value
- low palatability
- low cover and poor habitat quality
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Amphiachyris dracunculoides - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire Tolerance
- stress and disturbance tolerant
- rapidly establishes following heavy grazing
- high potential to re-establish following fire
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Desert Marigold
- Family: Asteraceae
- Scientific Name: Baileya multiradiata
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Baileya multiradiata - ID
- •heads on long peduncle, stalk
- •many showy yellow ray flowers (3-toothed)
- •Leaves wooly pubescent (lobed)
- •Forms basal rosette
- •Stems densely wooly
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Baileya multiradiata - Plant Attributes
- warm season forb
- 50 - 60 cm height
- flowering triggered by precipitation
- short lived plant
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Baileya multiradiata - Forage quality, Palatability, and Cover
- Not valued as forage
- poisonous
- drug used inhibit tumor formation in cancer patients
- low palatability
- low nutrient content
- low cover value (habitat)
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Bailey multiradiata - Drought/Stress, Grazing Tolerance
- drought tolerant
- damaged by cold
- not grazed
- increases with decreased competition
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Catclaw acacia
- Family: Fabaceae
- Scientific Name: Acacia greggii
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Acacia greggii - ID
- branches have internodal sharp curved spines
- compound, alternate
- leaflest slightly awn tipped
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Acacia greggii - Plant Attributes
- •Long-lived (100-120 years)
- •Deciduous plant (usually 1-2 m tall)
- •High water use efficiency
- •Deep taproot
- •Regeneration from seed and root crown sprouts
- •Important source of nectar for bees (honey)
- •Seed dispersed by animals
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Acacia greggii - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- •Marginal forage for livestock (cattle)
- •Forage mostly used in spring (young twigs, leaves)
- •Forage for deer (5-20% of diet in locations)
- •Rabbits and rodents often feed on acacia leaves and seeds
- •Pods not as palatable as Prosopis
- •Excellent cover for mammals and birds
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Acacia greggii - Drought/Stress, Grazing, Fire tolerance
- highly drought tolerant
- saline and alkaline tolerance
- able to withstand heavy grazing pressure
- grazing plants increases lateral growth
- typical topkilled by fire
- plants resprout from base following fire
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Apache plume
- Family: Rosaceae
- Scientific Name: Fallugia paradoxa
- Origin: Native
- Life Span: Perennial
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Fallugia paradoxa - ID
- •flowers solitary
- •achene with a long feathery style
- •Leaves: alternate and clustered, wedge shaped, 3-7 fingered lobes
- •Twigs white, stems dark
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Fallugia paradoxa - Plant Attributes
- •Cool season shrub
- •Regeneration from seed and sprouting
- •Flowering as early as April
- •Very common along water courses
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Fallugia paradoxa - Forage Quality, Palatability, and Cover
- •fair forage
- •low amounts by mule deer
- •Nutrient value is fair
•Provides cover to small mammals and birds, and larger mammals
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Fallugia paradoxa - Drought/Sterss, Grazing Tolerance
- High drought tolerance
- endures close grazing
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