Basalt Milkvetch and Globemallows: North American Forbs for Rehabilitation,

Conservation, and Forage Production

D.A. Johnson, T.A. Jones, J.H. Cane, D.R. Gardner, and M.D. Peel

Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project

Goal: Increase native plant materials available for restoration of disturbed rangelands

Basalt Milkvetch

Munroe Globemallow

Scarlet Globemallow

Basalt Milkvetch - Astragalus filipes

* Widely spread * Upright habit * Nitrogen fixer

* Creamy, showy flower * Good seed production * No reports of toxicity

Seed Collection for Basalt Milkvetch

• Obtained location information from herbarium specimens

• Mapped specimen sites for collection

• Collected seed, forage, root nodules, and soil from each site

Passport Data for Each Collection

• Taxonomic identification

• Location to nearest town

• Latitude, longitude, elevation

• Site exposure, slope

• Site physical characteristics

• Associated vegetation

• Other notes

83 Seed and Forage Collections of Basalt Milkvetch from Six-State Area and BC

Basalt Milkvetch Collections

Warrior Mine Gabbs, NV Champs Flat

Susanville, CA

Illipah Canyon, NV

Occurs on Wide Diversity of Sites

Nevada

California

Oregon

Good Seed Producer

Oregon

Does Well in Burned Areas

Nevada

Clarno, ORBurns, OR

Competitive With Cheatgrass

Collection of Root Nodules and Soil for Isolation of Rhizobium

Digging Nodules Individual Nodules

No detectable levels or extremely low levels

• Nitro-toxins

• Selenium

• Swainsonine

Toxicity to Livestock and Wildlife (Poisonous Plant Research Lab, Logan)

Analyzed Forage Samples for:

Challenges: Basalt Milkvetch

• Slow, extended germination

• Poor seedling vigor

• Seed predation (true weevils, seed beetles)

Selection for Improved Seedling Vigor

Establish Common Garden Nurseries at Logan and Millville

* Ecotypic variation * Genetic Diversity

Other Possible Selection Characteristics

* Plant vigor

* Forage yield

* Competitive interactions

* Grazing tolerance

* Persistence

* Seed yield

Ongoing Studies with Jim Cane

Pollination

Seed Predation

Globemallow Characteristics

Scarlet Globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)– Prostrate habit– Rhizomatous – Leaves deeply lobed

Both are drought tolerant

Munroe Globemallow (S. munroana) – Upright habit– Non-spreading– Leaves more ovate

Scarlet Globemallow

* Selected from ARS-2936 (germplasm release)

Munroe Globemallow

* Selected from ARS-2892 (germplasm release)

* Additional collections from:

Box Elder County, Utah

Wasatch County, Utah

Coconino County, Arizona

Origin of Germplasm

Scarlet Globemallow Improvement

Selection for:

* Seed production

* Seedling vigor

* Whole plant vigor

* Persistence• Rhizome development (up to 1 m/yr)

Two populations:

* Rangelands

* Ornamental use (extended flowering)

* Similar strategy with Munroe Globemallow

Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project

Acknowledgements

Typical Breeding Scheme for Cross-Pollinated Crops

Germplasm assembled and planted. No evaluation year of establishment.

Material is evaluated for traits, 1-5 years, typically 2 years.

Selected plants crossed to produce seed. Crossing in the field requires an extra year.

Seed evaluated for germination and seedling vigor.

Plants established in the field.

Process repeated three or four times to develop cultivar.