. Characteristics and hybridization of important intermountain shrubs. Compositae Rocky Mountains; Shrubs Rocky Mountains; Sunflowers Great Basin; Shrubs Great Basin. forage value of fringed sagebrush varies considerably with location and season. Its value as browse is highest in late fall, winter, and early spring on west- ern ranges where it is eaten readily by big game and livestock (USDA Forest Service 1937). It is also important food for sage grouse (Wallestad and others 1975). In other areas, such as the grasslands of the Northwest and Great Plains, fringed sagebrush may be les
. Characteristics and hybridization of important intermountain shrubs. Compositae Rocky Mountains; Shrubs Rocky Mountains; Sunflowers Great Basin; Shrubs Great Basin. forage value of fringed sagebrush varies considerably with location and season. Its value as browse is highest in late fall, winter, and early spring on west- ern ranges where it is eaten readily by big game and livestock (USDA Forest Service 1937). It is also important food for sage grouse (Wallestad and others 1975). In other areas, such as the grasslands of the Northwest and Great Plains, fringed sagebrush may be less palatable and occasionally invades deteriorated grasslands. However, on the Great Plains, fringed sagebrush is an important winter antelope food, and is used to a lesser extent the year round (E- F- Schlatter, letter 12/1/77). This species has strong reproductive qualities and is a good pioneer shrub for stabilizing disturbed areas. It has excellent reproduction from seed, and young plants or segments of old plants are readily transplanted in early spring. Fringed sagebrush has some value as a medicinal plant (Hall and Clements 1923). Artemisia longiioba (Osterhout) Beetle (alkali sagebrush) Alkali sagebrush is a low shrub up to dm tall. It has lax, spreading stems that frequently layer. The bark is dark brown to black on the older stems. The whole plant has a dark gray-green appearance (Beetle 1960). Leaves on the vegetative stems are broadly cuneate, up to 2 cm long, and are deeply 3-lobed. Leaves of the flowering stems are similar but smaller on the upper part of the plants. Crushed foliage emits a pungent odor similar to that of camphor, in the spring, and to hydraulic fluid in the fall (Brunner 1972). This species is readily distinguished from other low sagebrushes by its large heads and early blooming period (Beetle 1959) (fig. 14). Its heads contain 6 to 11 disc flowers and are 3 to 5 mm broad as opposed to 3 mm or less for other low sages. Alkali sagebrush blooms
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