Lab 2 (WL Value and Use)

Question 1

Woolly Croton

Answer 1

• Doves love - important food source to Morning and Ground Doves
i. Doves want bare ground and plants with seed hanging above them
• Guilds: Small game birds, ground dwelling birds, and seed eating birds
• Northern Bobwhite, quail, and some songbirds eat seeds during summer
• Preferred larval food source for Goatweed and Gray Hairstreak butterflies
• Toxic to Cattle and possibly humans
• Low quality for key herbivores
• Not preferred as deer forage

Question 2

Tall Ironweed

Answer 2

• Quail and Doves like to use as cover; ground dwelling birds
• Bitter foliage
• Bees and Butterflies love this plant
• Important Human Use: Native Americans use root of this plant as a pain reliever
• Low preference deer forage
• Structure is important creates a nice cover for ground dwelling birds; a lot of bare ground underneath and forb canopy

Question 3

Late Boneset

Answer 3

• Bees and Butterflies love this plant
i. Monarchs, Sulfurs, and Swallowtails
• Mod deer browse – deer will browse when other food resources are scarce

Question 4

Spanish Needles

Answer 4

• Waterfowl love eating the seeds; specifically Wood Ducks
• Found in Northern Bobwhite and quail diet; Seed-eating songbirds; Not a big apart of any species diet
• Used by pollinators
• Mod deer forage/browse

Question 5

Pokeweed

Answer 5

• Important soft mast in late summer and early fall
• Fruits consumed by quail, dove, songbirds and mammals; Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Black bear, Raccoon, Opossum, and Gray Fox
• HIGH browse for deer (POWER6 >30% CP); highly digestible
• Deer and birds readily consume the fruit; deer readily browse plant
• Toxic to cattle However, deer have overcome the toxic
• Important component of the Mourning Dove diet in fall and winter

Question 6

Narrowleaf Sunflower

Answer 6

• Heavily browsed on by deer
• Mammals, songbirds, and upland game birds (turkey, quail and dove) eat the seeds
• Seeds readily consumed by dove, quail, many songbirds including Dark-eyed Junco, various sparrows, American goldfinch, Carolina chickadee, and small mammals

Question 7

Silver plumegrass

Answer 7

• Low WL value on the seeds; seeds consumed sparingly by some songbirds
• Only good for cover; Clumping structure for cover

Question 8

Foxtail grass

Answer 8

• In the spring, leaves are eaten by turkey
• Doves, quail, and songbirds eat the seeds
• Northern cardinal, Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue Grosbeak, Dark-eyed Junco, and various sparrows
• Poor deer forage
• Giant foxtail is very important in coastal systems

Question 9

Dichanthelium

Answer 9

• One of the most important seed producing plants in the SE for ground-feeding songbirds, small mammals, and game birds (tons and tons and tons of seeds)
• Poor quality deer forage. However, deer will consume the basil rosettes during the winter when food is in low supply
• Turkey will also consume the basil rosettes during the winter
• Quail love the seeds
• Cover for wildlife along road edges and in disturbed areas

Question 10

Yellow Woodsorrel

Answer 10

• Quail, songbirds, and ground seed-eating birds will eat seeds
• Deer (sparingly) will eat the leaves; Low preference forage
• Northern Bobwhite, songbirds (Dark-eyed Junco), and various sparrows eat the seeds
• Ruffed Grouse and Wild turkey will eat the seeds and leaves
• Nectar source for Falcate Orangetip butterfly
• Turkey will consume leaves

Question 11

St. John’s Wort

Answer 11

• Nectar source for pollinators in late spring and summer
• Quail and songbirds will eat the seeds; granivorous birds
• Medicinal use (Depression and alcoholism)
• Toxic to Livestock

Question 12

Partridge pea

Answer 12

• Northern bobwhite, quail, ground seed-eating birds eat the seeds
• Potentially toxic to cattle
• Deer will browse

Question 13

Camphorweed

Answer 13

• Native Americans applied crushed leaves on wounds for aide healing and swelling
• Flowers attract pollinators
• Little WL value

Question 14

Purple Passionflower

Answer 14

• Good nectar and larval source for pollinators ; Mexican Sliverspot, Variegated Fritillary, Gulf Fritillary, Zebra Longwing, and Isabella Tiger butterflies
• Seeds eaten by quail and songbirds

Question 15

Blackgum

Answer 15

• Leaves are readily eaten by deer (POWER6 – only tree on list)
• Mammals eat the leaves and fruits
• Soft mast eaten by many species
• Great Cavity tree even for bears
• Does not have chambered pith

Question 16

Beauty Berry

Answer 16

• Berries are an important food source for over 40 different species of songbirds
• Incredibly high wildlife value
• Berries eaten by quail, opossum, armadillo, and raccoons
• Deer will eat the leaves and fruits; especially in the winter
• Moderate browse for deer (high in spring and early summer)

Question 17

Winged Sumac

Answer 17

• High wildlife value
• Critical cover source for quail and other ground-dwelling birds
• Winter food (fruits): turkey, deer, opossum, quail, and songbirds
• Eaten by tons of birds; Quail and turkey
• Opossum will eat fruit
• Rabbits will consume the bark as an emergency winter food source
• Most of the WL for this plant comes during the winter
• Deer will browse

Question 18

Spike Grass

Answer 18

• Seeds occasionally eaten by granivorous birds
• Provides cover
• Deer graze sparingly

Question 19

Wild Milet

Answer 19

• Important waterfowl food
• Excellent seed for waterfowl, granivorous birds, and rodents
• Doves will readily eat; Seed-eating birds
• Commonly planted on mudflats for waterfowl
• Commonly responds to disking in moist soil management

Question 20

Trumpet Creeper

Answer 20

• Good nectar source for bees and hummingbirds; Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Readily eaten by deer in the spring and summer
• Deer will browse the new tissue and not the older tissue
• Rabbits also browse
• Highly quality cover in forest canopy for small mammals and birds
• Seeds are wind and water dispersed