A rare species of sagebrush found only in southeast Wyoming survives primarily through pollination by bees, according to new research led by a University of Wyoming graduate student.
A rare species of sagebrush found only in southeast Wyoming survives primarily through pollination by bees, according to new research led by a University of Wyoming graduate student.
That makes the Laramie chickensage unusual among the hundreds of species of sagebrush, most of which are primarily pollinated by the wind, according to the research published in the Nordic Journal of Botany.
Madison Crawford, a recent UW master’s degree recipient from Newcastle, led the research. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in botany from UW, where she was an undergraduate Wyoming Research Scholar in 2017-19. Co-authors of the paper are Lusha Tronstad, lead invertebrate zoologist, and Joy Handley, an assistant research scientist, both with the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database at UW.
Read More: University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming scientist Madison Crawford, in the background, studies the rare Laramie chickensage, which can be seen with its distinctive yellow flowerheads in the foreground. (Photo Credit: Lusha Tronstad)
