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ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #132580
Title: GRAYIA SPINOSA (HOOK.) MOQ.

Author
item SHAW, NANCY - USDA-FOREST SERVICE
item Haferkamp, Marshall
item HURD, EMERENCIANNA - USDA-FOREST SERVICE

Submitted to: Forest Service General Technical Reports
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2004
Publication Date: 7/1/2004
Citation: Shaw, N.L., Haferkamp, M.R., Hurd, E.G. 2004. Grayia spinosa (hook.) moq. Forest Service General Technical Report IITF-GTR-26. p. 361-362.

Interpretive Summary: Spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa) is a summer deciduous chenopod shrub of the interior western United States. It is widely distributed in Wyoming big sagebrush, salt desert shrub, Mojava Desert, and pinyon-juniper communities where it occurs in scattered patches or as scattered plants. Plants are generally dioecious. Flowers are small and wind pollinated. Wind, gravity, and insects disperse fruits. Seeds of southern populations are nondormant, while those of northern populations require a prechill to enhance germination. Seedlings establish beneath canopies of nurse plants. Plants accumulate potassium. The summer deciduous habit allows plants to avoid drought and tolerate burning. Spiny hopsage provides diversity on sites where few other species occur. It provides cover and food for wildlife and early spring forage for livestock. Stands have been lost as a result of overgrazing.

Technical Abstract: Spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa) is a summer deciduous chenopod shrub of the interior western United States. It is widely distributed in Wyoming big sagebrush, salt desert shrub, Mojava Desert, and pinyon-juniper communities where it occurs in scattered patches or as scattered plants. Plants are generally dioecious. Flowers are small and wind pollinated. Wind, gravity, and insects disperse fruits. Seeds of southern populations are nondormant, while those of northern populations require a prechill to enhance germination. Seedlings establish beneath canopies of nurse plants. Plants accumulate potassium. The summer deciduous habit allows plants to avoid drought and tolerate burning. Spiny hopsage provides diversity on sites where few other species occur. It provides cover and food for wildlife and early spring forage for livestock. Stands have been lost as a result of overgrazing.