Richard Stevens Stephen B. Monsen Chapter 19

Forbs for Seeding Range and Wildlife

Forbs are abundant in all vegetative types throughout the Intermountain West. Most are found intermixed in grasslands and as understory in and forest types. Forbs provide ground cover, stability, community (flora and fauna) diversity, nutritious , and are of aesthetic value. Forbs should be seeded in most range, watershed, mine recla- mation, highway, recreational site, restoration and revegetation projects. Many commonly used forbs have been introduced to the Intermountain West and are now under cultivation for production. The principal introduced forbs planted on range and wildlands are , small burnet, and cicer milkvetch. Lewis , Rocky Mountain , and Palmer penstemon are the major native forbs being commercially grown and planted. Additional are being commercially grown in seed fields as demand increases. of many native species are collected from wildland stands but generally are in short supply.

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-136. 2004 425 Chapter 19 Forbs for Seeding Range and Wildlife Habitats

Chapter Contents by Species

Achillea millefolium ssp. lanulosa (western yarrow) ...... 430 Artemisia ludoviciana (Louisiana sage) ...... 430 Aster chilensis (Pacific aster) ...... 431 Aster glaucodes (blueleaf aster) ...... 433 Astragalus cicer (cicer milkvetch) ...... 433 sagittata (arrowleaf balsamroot) ...... 435 Balsamorhiza macrophylla (cutleaf balsamroot) ...... 436 var. neglecta (hairy balsamroot) ...... 436 Coronilla varia (crownvetch) ...... 437 richardsonii (Richardson geranium) ...... 438 Geranium viscosissimum (sticky geranium) ...... 439 Hedysarum boreale ( sweetvetch) ...... 439 (oneflower helianthella) ...... 440 Heracleum lanatum (cow parsnip)...... 441 porteri (Porter ligusticum) ...... 442 Linum perenne spp. lewisii (Lewis flax) ...... 443 Lomatium triternatum (nineleaf lomatium) ...... 444 Lomatium kingii (nuttall lomatium) ...... 445 sericeus (silky lupine) ...... 446 (silvery lupine) ...... 447 sativa (alfalfa) ...... 447 (sicklepod alfalfa) ...... 447 Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweetclover) ...... 451 Mertensia arizonica (tall bluebell) ...... 452 viciaefolia (sainfoin) ...... 453 occidentalis (sweetanise) ...... 454 Penstemon palmeri (Palmer penstemon) ...... 454 Penstemon cyananthus (Wasatch penstemon) ...... 456 Penstemon eatonii (Eaton penstemon) ...... 456 Penstemon humilis (low penstemon) ...... 457 Penstemon pachyphyllus (thickleaf penstemon) ...... 457 Penstemon rydbergii (Rydberg penstemon) ...... 457 Penstemon strictus (Rocky Mountain penstemon) ...... 457 Sanguisorba minor (small burnet) ...... 457 Senecio serra (butterweed groundsel) ...... 459 Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod)...... 460 Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia (gooseberryleaf globemallow) ...... 461 Sphaeralcea coccinea (scarlet globemallow) ...... 462 Trifol