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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Amorpha canescens | Leadplant
 

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VALUE AND USE

SPECIES: Amorpha canescens | Leadplant
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : NO-ENTRY IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Leadplant tends to be an incidental or minor component of livestock and wildlife diet throughout its range [36]. Livestock browse it sparingly [33]. In some areas it is used only in the spring [30]. In the central Black Hills, however, Uresk and Lowrey [32] reported a higher percentage of leadplant in cattle diets in September (1.5%) than in July (0.1%). In a study of palatability of Black Hills plants for white-tailed deer [18], leadplant was rated as unpalatable during all months. This may have been due to the presence of many other more palatable species [33]. PALATABILITY : The degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for leadplant is rated as follows [11]: CO ND WY Cattle fair fair fair Sheep fair fair fair Horses fair fair fair Pronghorn ---- good poor Elk ---- ---- fair Mule deer ---- good fair White-tailed deer ---- good good Small mammals ---- ---- poor Small nongame birds ---- ---- poor Upland game birds ---- ---- poor Waterfowl ---- ---- poor NUTRITIONAL VALUE : Leadplant is rated as fair in both energy and protein value [11]. Nutritient values are as follows [25]: FOOD VALUE AS FED% DRY% Dry matter 55.7 100.0 Ash 5.8 10.4 Crude fiber 12.0 21.5 Ether extract 4.7 8.5 N-free extract 28.6 51.4 Protein (N x 6.25) 4.6 8.2 Cattle digest. protein 2.7 4.9 Goats digest. protein 2.3 4.2 Horses digest. protein 2.5 4.5 Rabbits digest. protein 2.8 5.0 Sheep digest. protein 2.6 4.6 COVER VALUE : The degree to which leadplant provides environmental protection for wildlife species is rated as follows [11]: WY ND Elk poor ---- Mule deer poor fair White-tailed deer poor fair Pronghorn poor fair Upland game birds poor ---- Waterfowl poor ---- Small nongame birds fair ---- Small mammals fair fair VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : Leadplant is valuable for erosion control due to its deep, branching woody root system, and is included in grass seeding mixtures because of its nitrogen-fixing capability [36]. Treatment is probably not necessary for fall-sown seed; however, stored seeds have impermeable seedcoats and a high percentage of dormant seed, necessitating some type of treatment or scarification [10]. Hot water soaks or cold stratification may reduce seedcoat impermeability and enhance germination [10,36]. Under laboratory conditions germination tends to be variable; seeds generally germinate between 6 and 40 days [10,26,29]. Leadplant seed averages 165,000 seeds per pound, with 29 percent pure live seed, 98 percent purity, and 30 percent or better germination [37], or about 22,000 usable plants per pound of commercial seed [10]. Leadplant is a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing species and should be innoculated with "sp.", the effectively symbiotic innoculant, to ensure proper growth [11,28]. Several restoration studies suggest that leadplant has only fair seedling vigor. Although the plants appear to do well in the greenhouse, they are too small and delicate to survive harsh conditions in the field during the first year of growth. However, 1-year-old plants which were transplanted from a holding bed the following spring had good survival rates. Leadplant also showed a remarkable ability to resprout after apparent mortality due to water loss [8]. Generally, leadplant grows very slowly compared with other legume species [36] and must be protected from grazing [34]. This slow growth may be the result of inadequate innoculation with the proper rhizobium bacteria [28]. Competition may also contribute to poor seedling establishment [34]. Transplanting leadplant from natural prairies can be difficult. Good transplant success has been obtained using ball and burlap, turf roll, and peat pot methods [12,34]. OTHER USES AND VALUES : Native Americans smoked the dried leaves of leadplant; they also used leadplant to make tea [30]. It is used as an ornamental because of its showy flowers. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Leadplant decreases in response to grazing [16] and is rarely found in overgrazed habitats [36]. This winter-hardy, drought-tolerant species is difficult to establish. Seedlings appear intolerant of competition. Such competition can, however, be reduced by witholding grazing and controlling weeds by mowing above the seedling height during establishment. Later, to improve production and cover, grazing regimes should leave high stubble or periodically defer late summer defoliation until fall dormancy [36]. Under the practice of annual mowing or browsing which removes the top-growth each year, leadplant produces two to five or more stems from the crown each spring [19]. Grasshoppers, leafhoppers, and small mammals may reduce stands of leadplant. Leafspots, rusts, downy mildew, and Cytospora amorphae have been reported on plants but are not considered serious [17].

Related categories for Species: Amorpha canescens | Leadplant

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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