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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Artemisia pedatifida | Birdfoot Sagebrush
ABBREVIATION :
ARTPED
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
NO-ENTRY
COMMON NAMES :
birdfoot sagebrush
birdsfoot sage
green sagewort
birdfoot sagewort
TAXONOMY :
The fully documented scientific name of birdfood sagebrush is Artemisia
pedatifida Nutt. [2,3]. No varieties or forms have been described.
Birdfoot sagebrush is a member of the subgenus Dracunculus [13].
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
D. Tirmenstein, June 1987
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Tirmenstein, D. 1987. Artemisia pedatifida. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Artemisia pedatifida | Birdfoot Sagebrush
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Birdfoot sagebrush grows from the high plains of southern Idaho and
Montana through Wyoming to northwestern Colorado [3,8,9]. It extends
eastward, barely reaching the western-most edge of the Great Plains
[8].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
STATES :
CO ID MT UT WY
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
NO-ENTRY
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
5 Columbia Plateau
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
14 Great Plains
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K040 Saltbush - greasewood
K055 Sagebrush steppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Birdfoot sagebrush has been described as a climax indicator at some
sandy to stony sites in central Montana [2]. It is codominant with
Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) at these range sites [2].
Birdfoot sagebrush is found in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-grass and
saltbush (Atriplex spp.)-grass communities in Utah and elsewhere [7].
It commonly occurs with the following species: Indian ricegrass
(Oryzopsis hymenoides), needle-and-thread (Stipa comata), threadleaf
sedge (Carex filifolia), Idaho fescue, bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus
elymoides), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), fringed
sagebrush (Artemisia frigida), winterfat (Ceratoides lanata), and a
number of annual grasses and forbs [2,16].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Artemisia pedatifida | Birdfoot Sagebrush
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Little is known about the importance of birdfoot sagebrush to livestock
and wildlife. Its palatability ratings suggest potential importance to
some species. However, Johnson [12] reports that birdfoot sagebrush has
little value as a browse species.
PALATABILITY :
Overall palatability of birdfoot sagebrush in Wyoming is rated as
follows [4]:
Cattle Fair
Sheep Good
Horses Good
Pronghorn Fair
Elk Fair
Mule deer Poor
Small mammals Poor
Small nongame birds Fair
Upland game birds Fair
Waterfowl Poor
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Birdfoot sagebrush is rated as fair in energy value and good in protein
value [4]. Nutritional content is as follows [17]:
Buds, fresh
Ash 27.8%
Crude Fiber 23.7%
Ether Extract 2.4%
N-free Extract 39.1%
Protein (Nx6.25) 7.0%
Cattle-dig. protein 3.8%
Horses-dig. protein 3.5%
Sheep-dig. protein 3.5%
COVER VALUE :
Because of its short stature, birdfoot sagebrush provides little cover
for wildlife [4].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Birdfoot sagebrush grows well on alkaline flats and could be used for
rehabilitation of alkaline spoils and other revegetation projects [15].
It is rated as having low potential for erosion control and for long-
and short-term revegetation [4].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Birdfoot sagebrush may cause hayfever [4]. It is reported to be a good
soil stabilizer [12].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Birdfoot sagebrush increases in response to grazing [2]. Herbage yields
at four central Montana birdfoot sagebrush sites ranged from 400 to
2,600 pounds (182-1,180 kg) air-dry herbage per acre [2].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Artemisia pedatifida | Birdfoot Sagebrush
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Birdfoot sagebrush is a dwarf, somewhat mat-forming perennial subshrub
which grows from 2.0 to 5.9 inches (0.5-1.5 dm) in height [10,19].
Numerous erect stems arise from a branching woody base [3]. The root is
described as tough and woody [15].
Leaves are greenish gray and pubescent [16] and once or twice ternate
[10]. The cauline leaves are reduced and often entire [3]. The
inflorescence of birdfoot sagebrush is subracemiform or spiciform [10]
and few-headed [8]. Four to seven marginal pistillate ray flowers are
produced, as well as five to ten perfect but sterile staminate disc
flowers which lack achenes [3,9].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Chamaephyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Birdfoot sagebrush produces few-headed spiciform, subracemiform, or
racemiform inflorescences with four to seven pistillate, and five to ten
disk flowers [3,10]. Regeneration is presumably by seed. Information on
germination and seedling establishment is lacking.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Birdfoot sagebrush grows in small isolated stands on dry hills, mesas,
ridges, and high plains [9,10,12]. Annual precipitation at four
representative central Montana sites ranged from 5 to more than 25
inches (13-64 cm) [2]. This species commonly occurs on alkaline desert
soils [16], with good growth reported on saline soils and on loam, clay
loam, and clay [4]. Optimum soil depth is between 10 and 20 inches
(25-51 cm) [4]. General elevational ranges are as follows [4]:
from: 5,500 to 5,000 ft. (1,678-1,678 m) in CO
6,200 to 8,000 ft. (1,891-2,440 m) in MT
6,000 to 6,800 ft. (1,830-2,074 m) in UT
4,100 to 7,000 ft. (1,251-2,135 m) in WY
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Birdfoot sagebrush is a climax indicator at a number of central Montana
range sites [2]. The successional status of birdfoot sagebrush is not
well documented.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Time of flowering is as follows [3,4,7,15]:
Location Beginning of Flowering End of Flowering
CO June August
ID June August
MT June July
UT May June
WY June July
Great Plains May July
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Artemisia pedatifida | Birdfoot Sagebrush
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Resprouting and other types of vegetative response have not been
documented. Reestablishment probably occurs thorough reseeding.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Artemisia pedatifida | Birdfoot Sagebrush
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
The effect of fire on birdfoot sagebrush is not well documented.
Presumably the plant is killed when aboveground vegetation is consumed
by fire.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
Resprouting after fire or other disturbance has not been documented.
Reestablishment of this "weakly spreading" subshrub [8] is probably
through seedling establishment. Recovery time is unknown.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Artemisia pedatifida | Birdfoot Sagebrush
REFERENCES :
1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
2. Davis, Carl. 1975. A guide for determining potential herbage
productivity of central Montana range areas and potential range areas.
***Final Draft. Gallatin National Forest; Long Range Planning. 54 p.
[753]
3. Davis, Ray J. 1952. Flora of Idaho. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Co. 828 p.
[12656]
4. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
6. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
7. Goodrich, Sherel; Neese, Elizabeth. 1986. Uinta Basin flora. [Place of
publication unknown]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.
320 p. [23307]
8. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603]
9. Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed.
Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p. [6851]
10. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
11. Holmgren, Arthur H.; Reveal, James L. 1966. Checklist of the vascular
plants of the Intermountain Region. Res. Pap. INT-32. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. 160 p. [1184]
12. Johnson, A. Earl. 1987. The relationship of Tetradymia species and
Artemisia nova to photosensitization in sheep. In: Provenza, Frederick
D.; Flinders, Jerran T.; McArthur, E. Durant, compilers.
Proceedings--symposium on plant- herbivore interactions; 1985 August
7-9; Snowbird, UT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-222. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 113-117.
[1270]
13. Knight, Dennis H.; Jones, George P.; Akashi, Yoshiko; Myers, Richard W.
1987. Vegetation ecology in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area:
Wyoming and Montana. Final Report. Laramie, WY: University of Wyoming,
National Park Service Research Center. 114 p. [12498]
14. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
15. McArthur, E. Durant; Stevens, Richard. 1986. Composite shrubs.
Unpublished manuscript on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Labortory,
Missoula, MT. 155 p. [7342]
16. Morris, Melvin S.; Kelsey, Rick G.; Griggs, Dave. 1976. The geographic
and ecological distribution of big sagebrush and other woody Artemisias
in Montana. Proceedings of the Montana Academy of Sciences. 36: 56-79.
[1695]
17. National Academy of Sciences. 1971. Atlas of nutritional data on United
States and Canadian feeds. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.
772 p. [1731]
18. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
19. Rydberg, Per Axel. 1954. Flora of the Rocky Mountains and adjacent
plains. New York: Hafner Publishing Co. 1143 p. [19367]
20. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
21. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
Index
Related categories for Species: Artemisia pedatifida
| Birdfoot Sagebrush
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