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Show 4 jagebrush shows fertility ,f Soil, U lecturer says h -usually thought ;!Vlhe prime indicator of a L fetes climate-often actu-;irksthe actu-;irksthe place where any-ill any-ill grow", Dr. Irving B. itiv professor of biology, enthusiasts Sunday in iffiulty delivered a colorize color-ize lecture titled, "Plants of ''"ah" at the Park City Recrea-! Recrea-! ' center as part of the Sum-- Sum-- School's Park City Ucture l,jJS The University presents Q or special programs each ;.jiyat8 p.m. at the recrea-. recrea-. Acenter. Utah, the desert rises and '.gisilie mountains immediate-VDr.McNulty immediate-VDr.McNulty said. There are a few foothills. It's on the along the edge of the -jitain range that agriculture possible-that's where water die mountain streams is ;Jle and often where the jisnol too salty. Salty Desert Valleys lie said that in lower areas of is desert valleys, the soil is 1 so salty that only a few :& can survive. "You can si down in one of these areas jj get wet because the ground s moist, but it's also so salty jplants can't get water. "But the big sagebrush, which jjilly grows somewhat above ; valley floor, indicates that 1 : ground is not salty. That's :i the pioneers looked for big sage. They knew if a big sage was there, anything would grow." Dr. McNulty said a definite succession both in ground flora and trees is noticeable as one moves up in elevation along the mountains. At the base of cliffs, along dry rocky ridges, are pinon junipher trees. The state has its own distinctive brand of Juniper-the Utah Juniper-which is noted for its age and abiltiy to grow despite de-spite unfavorable conditions. Important Lumber Trees Further up, one encounters yellow pine. "It's one of the more important lumber trees in the state," said Dr. McNulty, "and was used to build parts of the Tabernacle. It's particularly found in Southern Utah." At the 7,500 ft. level, true forests begin. Typically, one encounters en-counters a mixture of aspen and fir. Dr. McNulty noted that aspen, "a stately tree which paints picturesque scenes both in summer and winter," covers seven million acres in the state. Ski Lifts Pass By One hundred feet higher, one notices a new type of tree. "This . is the one the ski lifts pass by-the dark fir and the tall, sharp-spired alpine fir," he said. At this same level, on high, inaccessible rocky ridges where little water is available, a very unusual "foxtail pine", which otten becomes several thousand years old, is found, Dr. McNulty Frost Any Day Finally one reaches the timber line. At this level, there is no growing season and "it can frost any day of the year." Trees which reach majestic heights a few feet lower on the mountain only get to be three feet tall here. Dr. McNulty noted that a wide variety of wildflowers, including in-cluding buttercups, yellow "mules ear", bluebells, columbine colum-bine and asters, cover the ground below the trees at various levels. He brought along slides showing many of the varieties. He said overgrazing has been responsible for the barren and unattractive land cover in many areas of the state. "We believe that grass once predominated, but were replaced by sagebrush after they were removed," he. said. He added that Utah biologists have discovered areas which, because thay are inaccessible to grazing, are still covered by grasses. In next Sunday's lecture Father Jerald H. Merrill of Salt Lake's Guadalupe Mission will discuss the problems of Utah's Chicanos. |