Abstract

The National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) is located along the western edge of the upper Snake River Plain in southeastern Idaho. The area covered in this study comprises 894 square miles of rolling to broken land. The plain is broken by three large buttes, all volcanic in nature. The Snake River Plain was formed by the interbedding of volcanic rocks, lake, and alluvial deposits. The alluvial deposits are Quaternary in age as are the basalt flows, and the three buttes are middle Teritary. The vegetation is semi-desert and belongs to the northern desert shrub biome. Annual precipitation at the station is between 7 and 8 inches and the mean annual temperature is 42 degrees F. In this study an attempt was made to collect representatives of all taxa of vascular ·plants on the NRTS. All pertinent specimens in the herbaria of Idaho State College, Utah State University, and the NRTS were examined. From these data keys, descriptions, distributions, and phenology are provided for all taxa. A summary of the families, genera, and species reconized in this study are as follows: (1) 158 families, (2) 162 genera, and (3) 349 species.

Degree

College and Department

Life Sciences; Plant and Wildlife Sciences

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