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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Tetradymia spinosa | Spiny Horsebrush
ABBREVIATION :
TETSPI
SYNONYMS :
Lagothamnus ambiguus Nutt.
Lagothamnus microphyllus Nutt.
SCS PLANT CODE :
TETSP2
COMMON NAMES :
spiny horsebrush
catclaw horsebrush
cottonthorn horsebrush
TAXONOMY :
Strother's 1974 revision of the genus Tetradymia recognizes spiny
horsebrush as Tetradymia spinosa Hook. & Arn. This work puts
Lagothamnus ambiguus Nutt. and L. micriphyllus Nutt. in synonymy with T.
spinosa [11].
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Kathy Ahlenslager May 1986
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
Kathy Ahlenslager December 1987
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Ahlenslager, Kathleen E. 1987. Tetradymia spinosa. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Tetradymia spinosa | Spiny Horsebrush
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Spiny horsebrush is widespread throughout the Great Basin and adjacent
mountains. It occurs from southeastern Oregon to southwestern Montana
and western Wyoming, south to northwestern New Mexico (San Juan County),
south-central Utah, Nevada, and eastern California (Lassen and Mono
counties).
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
STATES :
CA CO MT NV NM OR UT WY
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
ARCH BICA COLM DINO FOBU
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K039 Blackbrush
K040 Saltbush - greasewood
K041 Creosotebush
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K053 Grama - galleta steppe
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
238 Western juniper
239 Pinyon - juniper
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Spiny horsebrush is a seral species and is not found as a dominant,
codominant, or indicator in any habitat types. Throughout its range it
is associated with shadscale, sagebrush, cresote, ponderosa pine, and
pinyon-juniper vegetation types [11].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Tetradymia spinosa | Spiny Horsebrush
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Due to its spiny growth habit and toxicity, this species is of little
direct use to animals. However, it does provide cover for smaller
animals and is useful as a soil stabilizer [9].
PALATABILITY :
The degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for this toxic
plant in several western states has been rated as follows [6]:
.NS
CO MT UT WY
Cattle ---- Poor Poor Poor
Sheep ---- Poor Fair Poor
Horses ---- Poor Poor Poor
Pronghorn ---- ---- Poor ----
Elk Poor ---- Poor ----
Mule deer Poor ---- Poor ----
Small mammals ---- ---- Fair ----
Small nongame birds ---- ---- Fair ----
Upland game birds ---- ---- Poor ----
Waterfowl ---- ---- Poor ----
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Spiny horsebrush is rated poor in energy and protein value [6].
COVER VALUE :
The degree to which spiny horsebrush provides environmental protection
during one or more seasons for wildlife species has been rated as
follows [6]:
CO UT
Pronghorn ---- Poor
Elk ---- Poor
Mule deer ---- Poor
Small mammals Fair Good
Small nongame birds Poor Fair
Upland game birds ---- Fair
Waterfowl ---- Poor
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
The growth of spiny horsebrush on gentle to moderate slopes is good and
on steep slopes is poor. This species' potential for erosion control
and revegetation is low [1].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Tetradymia spinosa | Spiny Horsebrush
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Spiny horsebrush is a native, perennial, compact or spreading,
much-branched, rhizomatous shrub up to 4 feet (12 dm) in height
[5,9,11].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Spiny horsebrush regenerates vegetatively through rhizomes and root bud
sprouting, as well as sexually via wind-dispersed seeds [11,12, (Young
pers. comm. 1987)].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Spiny horsebrush occurs in dry, open places in foothills and plains in
sandy soils, as well as in alkali sinks [5,9,11]. In Lahontan Basin,
Nevada, this species is important on Lahontan sands and
characteristically grows on top of stable sand dunes. Its occurrence is
almost always associated with cultural artifacts [Young pers. comm.
1987]. Elevational ranges vary as follows [6]:
from 4,500 to 7,000 feet (1,372-2,134 m) in CO
3,000 to 3,000 feet (915-915 m) in MT
4,300 to 7,000 feet (1,311-2,134 m) in UT
4,100 to 8,000 feet (1,250-2,439 m) in WY
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Spiny horsebrush is a seral species and has the ability to increase in
abundance during secondary succession through vigorously sprouting roots
and rhizomes. Although flowers are highly fertile, seedlings are rarely
observed in nature. This is probably due to the harsh environment in
which the species occurs and a high rate of paratization by insects on
the flowers [11,(Young pers. comm. 1987)].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Spiny horsebrush is dormant most of the year and resumes growth later in
the spring than most species in the western Colorado and eastern Utah
desert shrub communities [4]. In the Intermountain region blooming
occurs in May and June but may extend into August [9,11]. Flowering
dates in various states are as follows [6]:
State Earliest date observed Latest date observed
CO May July
MT May July
UT May June
WY May June
As typical with many xerophytes, the occurrence of flowering in spiny
horsebrush is correlated with temporal distribution and rainfall. In
very dry years some individual plants or entire colonies do not bloom at
all, or bloom but fail to mature fruits, probably due to decreases in
water availability. Vegetative reproduction of plants from rhizomes
contributes to colony uniformity [11].
One way xerophytic species, such as spiny horsebrush, cope with a short
growing season is to flower simultaneously. Often plants of whole
colonies bloom at once or bloom within a few days of each other [11].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Tetradymia spinosa | Spiny Horsebrush
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Plants of spiny horsebrush are dormant throughout most of the year on
the dry ranges where they occur. During a fire this shrub burns rapidly
with little heat transferred downward into the roots. Fire stimulates
root buds of the species to sprout [12]. A low-intensity fire may
stimulate this species to initiate new shoots from rhizomes.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Small shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
Rhizomatous shrub, rhizome in soil
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Tetradymia spinosa | Spiny Horsebrush
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Spiny horsebrush occurs on dry sites where fuels are usually
insufficient to carry a fire [9,14]. The effect of fire on shrubs is
more damaging than that on forbs and grasses. Fire not only destroys
herbage but also the stored reserves of shrubs [3]. Spiny horsebrush is
considered a fire-resistant species, as there is a 65 percent or greater
chance that at least 50 percent of a population will survive or
reestablish after a fire [12,14].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Spiny horsebrush, which is capable of resprouting and rapid regrowth
after fire, is favored over other plants that reestablish only by seed
[2]. Postfire regeneration response is considered rapid, with 2 to 5
years required to approximate preburn frequency or cover [12]. Plants
quickly regain and surpass their original size. The amount of sprouting
is affected by season and soil moisture, as these are factors which
contribute to burning intensity [3].
After a fire, crown-sprouting spiny horsebrush may initially dominate
sagebrush ranges. Postfire sprouting from rhizomes may result in a one
to one replacement ratio at best, whereas sprouting from root buds may
result in more than one replacement plant [Young pers. comm. 1987]. In
addition to the vigorous postburn production of root crown sprouts,
spiny horsebrush also exhibits dynamic postfire seedling establishment
[7].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Tetradymia spinosa | Spiny Horsebrush
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. Blaisdell, James P. 1953. Ecological effects of planned burning of
sagebrush-grass range on the upper Snake River Plains. Tech. Bull. 1975.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 39 p. [462]
3. Blaisdell, James P.; Murray, Robert B.; McArthur, E. Durant. 1982.
Managing Intermountain rangelands--sagebrush-grass ranges. Gen. Tech.
Rep. INT-134. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 41 p. [467]
4. Branson, Farrel A.; Miller, Reuben F.; McQueen, I. S. 1976. Moisture
relationships in twelve northern desert shrub communities near Grand
Junction, Colorado. Ecology. 57(6): 1104-1124. [510]
5. Cronquist, Arthur. 1955. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest: Part
5: Compositae. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 343 p. [716]
6. 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]
7. 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]
8. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council
fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No.
14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]
9. McArthur, E. Durant; Blauer, A. Clyde; Plummer, A. Perry; Stevens,
Richard. 1979. Characteristics and hybridization of important
Intermountain shrubs. III. Sunflower family. Res. Pap. INT-220. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 82 p. [1571]
10. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
11. Strother, John L. 1974. Taxonomy of Tetradymia (Compositae:
Senecioneae). Brittonia. 26: 177-202. [2268]
12. Volland, Leonard A.; Dell, John D. 1981. Fire effects on Pacific
Northwest forest and range vegetation. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Range Management
and Aviation and Fire Management. 23 p. [2434]
13. Wright, Henry A. 1972. Shrub response to fire. In: McKell, Cyrus M.;
Blaisdell, James P.; Goodin, Joe R., eds. Wildland shrubs--their biology
and utilization: Proceedings of a symposium; 1971 July; Logan, UT. Gen.
Tech. Rep. INT-1. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 204-217.
[2611]
14. Young, Richard P. 1983. Fire as a vegetation management tool in
rangelands of the Intermountain Region. In: Monsen, Stephen B.; Shaw,
Nancy, compilers. Managing Intermountain rangelands--improvement of
range and wildlife habitats: Proceedings; 1981 September 15-17; Twin
Falls, ID; 1982 June 22-24; Elko, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-157. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station: 18-31. [2681]
Index
Related categories for Species: Tetradymia spinosa
| Spiny Horsebrush
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