1Up Info - A Portal with a Difference

1Up Travel - A Travel Portal with a Difference.    
1Up Info
   

Earth & EnvironmentHistoryLiterature & ArtsHealth & MedicinePeoplePlacesPlants & Animals  • Philosophy & Religion  • Science & TechnologySocial Science & LawSports & Everyday Life Wildlife, Animals, & PlantsCountry Study Encyclopedia A -Z
North America Gazetteer


You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Purshia mexicana var. stansburiana | Stansbury Cliffrose
 

Wildlife, Animals, and Plants

 


Wildlife, Animals, and Plants

 

Wildlife Species

  Amphibians

  Birds

  Mammals

  Reptiles

 

Kuchler

 

Plants

  Bryophyte

  Cactus

  Fern or Fern Ally

  Forb

  Graminoid

  Lichen

  Shrub

  Tree

  Vine


BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Purshia mexicana var. stansburiana | Stansbury Cliffrose
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : Stansbury cliffrose is a drought-resistant native shrub or tree. It usually grows from 1 to 6 feet (0.3-1.8 m) in height but may reach 25 feet (7.5 m) on favorable sites [93]. Plants in northern populations are rarely over 12 feet (3.6 m) tall [10]. The simple, evergreen leaves are small and alternate to clustered. Leaves, flowers, and twigs are glandular. Twig and branch bark is shreddy. The flowers are bisexual; rarely, some are staminate. The fruit is an achene with a persisent style. At one-half inch to 2 inches (1-3.5 cm), the style is several times longer than the fruit [33,93,97]. Stansbury cliffrose has a taproot and much-branched, widely spreading lateral roots. Where not restricted by bedrock, the taproot grows moderately deep. In the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, Cline [19] excavated roots of a 30-year-old individual that reached 8.8 feet (2.4 m) below ground. Roots may have nodules with nitrogen-fixing bacteria [60]. This is apparently a moderately long-lived shrub. Brotherson and others [12] and Price and Brotherson [66] reported that the oldest living Stansbury cliffrose in a population on the Wasatch Range of Utah was 69 years; 40 to 45 years was the modal age class. Similarly, Cline [19] found no individuals older than 69 years on a Wasatch Range site in Utah County. RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Phanerophyte REGENERATION PROCESSES : Reproduction is by seed and, rarely, sprouting. Stansbury cliffrose is self-incompatible [8]. Plants first produce seed at about age 5 and produce a good seed crop about every 2 years. There is often more than one seed set per season [1,102]. Heavily browsed plants usually do not produce seed except on branches above browseline [39]. Seed readily disperses when wind catches the long, plumose style. Animals also disperse seed [1,58]. Seed requires overwinter stratification (or 1-2 months cold stratification in the laboratory) and germinates in spring [67,101,102]. Rodents cache Stansbury cliffrose seed, and seedling clusters resulting from germination of uncomsumed seed are common [Jensen and Stapley in (1),102]. Soil-stored seed remains viable for 5 [81,94] to 16 years [75]. There is no light requirement for germination [94], and seeds germinate under a wide range of temperatures [101]. Fifteen to 100 percent germination has been reported in the laboratory depending upon treatment and, probably, seed source [72,101]. Field germination probably rarely exceeds 60 percent even under optimal conditions [101]. Germination rates are usually higher in seed produced early in the season than in later-maturing seed [1,102], and seed on current-year growth may fail to mature [39]. Price and Brotherson [66] found that seedling establishment was highest in years of below-average precipitation in central Utah. Still, mortality from desiccation is high in germinants. Early growth is mainly below ground; seedlings have a high root:shoot ratio [19]. Dense stands of exotic annual grasses may competitively exclude Stansbury cliffrose seedlings [66]. Variable sprouting ability is reported for Stansbury cliffrose, and it is uncertain whether the variation is due to genetics, degree of damage to the root crown, or a combination of both. Stansbury cliffrose is anecdotally reported as nonsprouting in California [73], nonsprouting to weakly sprouting in Arizona and New Mexico [74], and sprouting in western Nevada [Klebenow and Bruner in (61)]. Multistemmed individuals have a greater tendancy to sprout than single-stemmed individuals [95]. McCulloch [53] reported that on the Kaibab Plateau, plants bulldozed to the root crown did not sprout, while those sustaining only top-crown damage sprouted from the root crown. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : True to its name, Stansbury cliffrose occurs on cliffs and other exposed, dry sites such as mesas and foothills [1,32,56]. Aspect is usually south or west [35,66]. Limestone is the most common substrate parent material, but Stansbury cliffrose also occurs on other sedimentary substrates and also on igenous formations [17,22,31,66]. Soils are acidic to alkaline [10], well-drained [51], and have a coarse sandy, gravelly, or rocky texture [32,94]. Stansbury cliffrose can survive on sites receiving less than 12 inches (305 mm) of annual precipitation [10]. Elevational range by state is: feet meters state 3,000-8,000 914-2,438 AZ [17,41] 3,630-7,500 1,100-2,500 CA [33] 2,525-8,235 975-2,745 UT [66,97] SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : Stansbury cliffrose seedlings colonize open, disturbed sites [61]. As adults, plants are "fairly" shade tolerant [95]. Stansbury cliffrose occurs in understories of open coniferous forests [14,31,48,] but is probably shaded out with canopy closure. In desert shrublands, Stansbury cliffrose may persist for 60 years or more, although individuals over 69 years of age have not been found [66]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : Flowers first appear from early May to late June, with blooming continuing until first autumn frost. Seeds from the earliest flowers mature and disperse from mid-July to August in Utah, with later-produced seed ripening and dispersing through October [1]. Arizona and California plants flower from April to September [41,59], with seed ripening and dispersing through October [73].

Related categories for Species: Purshia mexicana var. stansburiana | Stansbury Cliffrose

Send this page to a friend
Print this Page

Content on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information published on this site. We encourage you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities.

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

About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy | Links Directory
Link to 1Up Info | Add 1Up Info Search to your site

1Up Info All Rights reserved. Site best viewed in 800 x 600 resolution.