VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Adenostoma sparsifolium | Red Shank 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Small mammals browse red shank sprouts.  Twenty-seven percent of sprouts
tagged following prescribed fire at the University of San Diego's Sky
Oaks Research Station were browsed by chaparral rodents and lagomorphs
during postfire year 1.  The animals browsed 42 percent of tagged
sprouts in postfire year 2 [31].  Brush rabbit have been observed
browsing red shank sprouts [6].

Bullock and Sosa [6] reported that range cattle in the Sierra de Juarez
of Baja California were the primary consumers of red shank sprouts after
a wildfire there.

Following fire, Coast Range western fence lizard use charred red shank
branches as basking sites [34].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Red shank aids in stabilizing watersheds.  It is recommended on shallow,
well-drained soils [21].  A large quantity of fresh seed must be
collected directly from parent plants and germinated immediately,
because seed viability is low and of short duration.  Plants are
established by direct seeding or by planting bareroot shrubs 1 to 3
years of age.  Transplants in the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden,
California, showed over 47 percent survival after 11 years.  Nine years
after transplanting, they were 13 feet (4 m) tall and had a 10-foot
(3-m) canopy spread [11].  Seedlings planted in the San Dimas
Experimental Forest in the Santa Monica Mountains showed 100 percent
survival after 4 years, and were 4 to 6 feet (1.2-1.8 m) tall at that
time [21].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Native Americans used an infusion of red shank bark and leaves to treat
syphilis.  The plant oils were used to relieve skin infections [43].

Spanish Californians used red shank as a remedy for colds, snakebite,
and tetanus [8].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Only 2.5 percent of California's chaparral formation is dominated by red
shank.  Total area occupied by red shank communities is 291,700 acres
(116,680 ha) [30].

The oak (Quercus spp.)-infesting mistletoe Phoradendron villosum ssp.
villosum also parasitizes red shank [18].  Pinto and Velten [37] provide
a list of plant bugs (Miridae in the order Hemiptera) associated with
red shank.

Control:  Spring aerosol application of glyphosate top-kills red shank
[40].  Follow-up spraying is indicated for long-term control of sprouts.
A study of red shank and chamise response to glyphosate showed that a
single application killed chamise's lignotubers but not red shank's
[20].  Spraying red shank with 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T is ineffective [20].

Related categories for Species: Adenostoma sparsifolium | Red Shank