VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Wyethia amplexicaulis | Mules Ears 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Mule deer prefer mules ears early in the growing season [5,19,24].
Sheep forage new leaves in spring and early summer.  Mature foliage is
coarse and harsh, and plants dry out by mid-summer, so it is little used
after early summer.  Elk, deer, and all classes of livestock eat the
flower heads [26,28,35].


PALATABILITY : 
Mules ears is generally unpalatable [1,8,19,37].  However, the leaves
may be moderately palatable in the spring, and flower heads are relished
by livestock, deer, and elk [11,28].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Mules ears is generally poor in energy and protein value [8].  July
estimates for crude protein and in-vitro dry matter digestiblity for
mules ears collected in a moist meadow were 11.1 percent and 75.7
percent, respectively [27].


COVER VALUE : 
Mules ears often forms dense stands [22,28,30,37] and may provide good
cover for birds and small mammals [8].  Blue grouse nests in Utah are
commonly located in sagebrush-mules ears vegetation near trees or tall
shrubs [23].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
In the Wasatch Mountains of Utah and Idaho, mules ears forms dense cover
and its well-developed root system aids in preventing erosion [22].

Mules ears may be useful in revegetating mine spoils [35].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Native Americans fermented the roots of mules ears for 2 days in a pit
heated with hot stones to make a sweet flavored food [26,28].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Mules ears-dominated understory communities in the Intermountain region
have relatively high production levels, but the production is mainly
from unpalatable mules ears [11,17].  These stands are poor livestock
range and poor wildlife habitat because of a lack of structural and
species diversity [17].

The understory of many trembling aspen/mules ears stands has been
altered due to severe grazing pressure, as evidenced by the overwhelming
dominance of mules ears in environments that could support palatable
grasses and forbs [17].  When grazing pressure is less intense and a
shrub layer is present, such as in trembling aspen/mountain
snowberry-mules ears community types, ground-level shading may be too
intense to support a dominant cover of mules ears [17].

Mules ears dominates some mountain meadows in northeastern Oregon that
are in poor condition due to grazing.  It is less abundant in meadows
that have been improved by seeding with desirable forage [27].

Mules ears has a negative effect on available soil moisture because it
uses large amounts of moisture early in the season [19,37].  If grazing
was restricted, mules ears would probably still dominate many sites to
the exclusion of other plants because of this factor [37].

Triclopyr or 2,4-D applied early in the blooming period effectively
controls mules ears [20,30,33].

Related categories for Species: Wyethia amplexicaulis | Mules Ears