VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Ziziphus obtusifolia | Lotebush 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The fruit of lotebush is eaten by gray foxes, raccoons, ringtails, and
various birds including scaled quail, white-winged doves, band-tailed
pigeons, mockingbirds, northern orioles, phainopeplas, white-necked
ravens, curved-billed thrashers and golden-fronted woodpeckers
[26,31,50].  The twigs are browsed by white-tailed deer but are probably
not preferred [15].  Cattle browse lotebush, but it is apparently of low
preference [49].

The southern plains woodrat makes extensive but not exclusive use of
lotebush twigs for construction of houses, although it prefers sites
closer to prickly pear (Opuntia spp.) plants [47].  Lotebush is a
preferred nest site for a number of bird species [39].


PALATABILITY : 
The mealy drupe is edible for humans but is not palatable [50].  It is
preferred by some species of birds and small mammals [31].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Lotebush browse is of medium food value for white-tailed deer [15].

In vitro dry matter digestibility averaged for all four seasons was 45.4
percent.  Leaf crude protein as a percentage of dry weight ranged from
19 percent in May to 40 percent in March [49].

Nutritional value (as percentage of dry weight) for lotebush fruits is
as follows [17]:

crude protein      11
phosphorus          0.19
calcium             0.35
magnesium           0.12
potassium           1.23
sodium              0.04


COVER VALUE : 
Lotebush is a primary source of loafing cover in fall, winter, and
spring for northern bobwhite.  It is preferred in winter for its closed,
spinescent canopy that provides overhead concealment and good protection
from climatic extremes.  Northern bobwhite use only larger lotebush
plants [40].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The roots of lotebush can be used as a soap substitute and also as a
treatment for wounds and sores of domestic animals [50].  Until
recently, the fruits were eaten in small quantites by the Pima Indians
of the Gila River region [38].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
On the Rolling Plains of northwestern Texas, lotebush only rarely
develops into wide-ranging dense stands that require control measures,
but it but can become a problem locally.  Where it does occur in dense
stands that impede management of livestock, Scifres and Kothmann [42]
recommend thinning with individual plant treatments, either mechanical
or chemical.

Removal of top growth is insufficient to control lotebush.  After 30
days, 90 percent of lotebush plants clipped 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the
soil line had sprouted [42].  More stems per plant are produced when top
growth is removed to approximately 2 inches (5 cm) above the soil than
when it is removed to ground line, to below the first woody lateral
shoot, or left undisturbed [19,42].
 
Lotebush is resistant or partially resistant to many herbicides, but is
susceptible to basal sprays of picloram [8,32].  Scifres and Kothmann
[42] recommend either basal applications of 2,4,5-T plus picloram,
picloram pellets or dicamba granules for control of lotebush.

Dodd [16] achieved effective control of lotebush by root plowing
followed by raking.  Other authors agree that mechanical control methods
which completely uproot the plants offer more promise for control than
those which only remove top growth [32,42].  These methods, however,
result in poorer range conditions (more annual invaders) than chemical
treatments.  This can be at least partially compensated for by
artificial seeding [32].

In an area of mixed brush dominated by honey mesquite (that includes
lotebush), Scifres and others [41] recommend a variable rate pattern of
herbicide application that could be more economical than strip-applied
patterns.  Such variable rate patterns can be made more site specific
and take into account different brush species' susceptibility to
herbicides and the particular potential of each site.  This type of
application also results in the patchy brush that is preferred by
wildlife, particularly white-tailed deer.

Management for wildlife habitat should leave large lotebush clones or
individuals intact.  Sprouting lotebush plants (where top growth was
removed) often have a prostrate or rosette growth form that is useless
to nesting birds [39].

Related categories for Species: Ziziphus obtusifolia | Lotebush