Keyword: seeding

Invasive Species Science Update (No. 11)

In this issue, we cover new research ranging from using chili powder to improve native plant restoration, searching for a link between exotic white pine blister rust and mountain pine beetle resistance in limber pine, identifying how melting arctic sea ice could open new pathways for invasive species introductions, and research into a relatively newly established biocontrol agent for rush skeletonweed.

Small-leaf globemallow (Sphaeralcea parvifolia)

Small-leaf globemallow occurs in the Central Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau ecoregions (Lambert 2005). It occurs naturally in Nevada, the southern two-thirds of Utah, western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, northern and central Arizona, and adjacent California (Kearney 1935; Holmgren et al. 2005; La Duke 2016; USDA NRCS 2017). It has been grown in southern Idaho (Pendery and Rumbaugh 1990) but is not native there.

Munro’s globemallow (Sphaeralcea munroana)

Munro’s globemallow is a western species occurring in southern British Columbia, east of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon, as far south as Nevada and Utah and as far east as southwestern Wyoming (Welsh et al. 1987; Holmgren et al. 2005; La Duke 2016; LBJWC 2018).

Gooseberry globemallow (Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia)

Gooseberryleaf globemallow is native to North America and occurs primarily in the Intermountain region in the western states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico (La Duke 2016). It is also reported in northern California but may reach its maximum abundance in Utah (Kearney 1935). Plants are winter hardy, especially in regions with at least periodic snow cover.

Royal penstemon (Penstemon speciosus)

Royal penstemon occurs from the eastern slopes of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Mountains eastward across central and southeastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and southwestern Idaho, and south through eastern California and Nevada to higher elevations in mountain ranges on the northern edge of the Mojave Desert (USDA NRCS 2017). A few populations are found in Utah.

Sagebrush false dandelion (Nothocalais troximoides)

Sagebrush false dandelion is distributed from south-central British Columbia to northern California, northern Nevada and Utah, largely east of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains, and eastward across western and central Montana and northwestern Wyoming (CPNWH 2017; SEINet 2017; USGS 2017).

Showy goldeneye (Heliomeris multiflora)

Showy goldeneye is a western species. Variety multiflora is the most widely distributed, occurring in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Variety nevadensis is more southerly, occurring in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and as far south as Jalisco, Mexico. Variety brevifolia occurs in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico (Schilling 2006).

Aspen fleabane (Erigeron speciosus)

Aspen fleabane is widely distributed throughout western North America. In Canada, it occurs in British Columbia and Alberta. In the United States it occurs in western South Dakota and all states to its west, except California. However, there is a population in Baja California that is disjunct from the nearest southernmost populations in Arizona (Nesom 2006).

Hoary tansyaster (Dieteria [Machaeranthera] cansecens)

Hoary tansyaster is common and broadly distributed throughout western North America, ranging from southern British Columbia south to Baja California and east to western North Dakota, western Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico (Cronquist et al. 1994; Morgan 2006). Variety canescens is the most widespread of the varieties, most of which have much more limited distributions (Table 1; Morgan 2006).

Tapertip hawksbeard (Crepis acumintata)

Tapertip hawksbeard occurs in all states west of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico (Bogler 2006). It is common in and east of the Cascade and Sierra mountain ranges and found in the northern parts of Arizona and New Mexico (Cronquist et al. 1994; LBJWC 2018). Populations are most common in the Columbia Plateau and Great Basin provinces (Babcock and Stebbins 1938) and exist in most, if not all, counties in Utah (Welsh et al. 1987).