N RANCHING
atural Resources
What Plant Is Important in February? Annual Broomweed (Amphiachyris dracunculoides)
B
ROOMWEED IS MOST LIKELY THE BEST RECOGNIZED “WEED” in the state and southern regions of the United States.
An annual forb that plagues Texas rangelands,
broomweed is known as an indicator plant or “tat- tletale” of the plant community. This plant has a cousin that is a perennial found in western regions of the state, where it is called perennial broomweed or snakeweed. • Broomweed must have bare ground or distur- bance and sunshine to germinate and grow. This condition often points to overgrazed, overstocked pastures where the grass cover has been removed by livestock.
• It can rob the soil and grass of much-needed water and sunshine by forming a very dense cover and preventing grass growth.
• Presence of broomweed commonly refl ects a wet fall and winter, which provide good conditions for seed germination.
• Broomweed is toxic and causes irritation to the eyes of both man and beast when contact is made through mowing or another disturbance to the plant. Broomweed does have 2 good virtues. It provides
42 The Cattleman February 2014
bobwhite quail with excellent food and cover. The seed is used by the bird and the dense canopy provides a playground for young birds by allowing ease of mobility and protection from avian predators. It is also widely used in arts and crafts and often
sprayed with various paints and used in decorative fl oral arrangements. Broomweed can be prevented by practicing good
grazing management and keeping a dense cover of grass to protect the soil surface. Broomweed can be easily controlled by spraying
with herbicides early in the spring while the plant has leaves to intercept the herbicide. February is the month to inventory and identify whether you have a weed problem. Broomweed will lose the leaf tissue as it matures;
therefore, using herbicides may not be as economical or effective on mature plants.
Editor’s note: Jeff Goodwin and Kent Ferguson, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), are providing us with plant identifi cation photo stories to help ranchers identify those forbs, forages and brush species growing in the pastures. Photos provided by the authors and Clint Rollins.
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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