N RANCHING


atural Resources


What Plant Is Important for May? Illinois Bundlefl ower (Desmanthus illinoensis)


2 mm I


LLINOIS BUNDLEFLOWER IS A WARM SEASON perennial native legume that is adapted to clay and sandy soils and can be found


on prairies, woodlands, riparian areas and roadsides. It is a very adaptable, drought- hardy plant that is found throughout Texas. • Indicates good rangeland condition • As a very high protein forb, its leaves are used by wildlife and domestic live- stock.


• Upright growing plant that reaches a height of 1 to 3 feet


• Blooms a small, white, ball-like fl ower from May through June


• Fruit is a dense cluster of curved pods or “beans” that are green when young and turn black when mature — many species of birds use these “beans” as fast they as shatter and become avail- able to consume. Illinois Bundleflower is a plant that


should be included in all rangeland res- toration projects and is a real asset to any pasture.


Editor’s note: Jeff Goodwin, USDA Natu-


ral Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Kent Ferguson, recently retired from NRCS, are providing us with plant identifi ca- tion photo stories to help ranchers identify those forbs, forages and brush species grow- ing in the pastures. Photos are provided by the authors.


tscra.org May 2014 The Cattleman 51


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100