Four-Winged Saltbush

Four-Winged Saltbush
Author: Ray Bowers

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Species: Atriplex canescens

Description:
Four-winged saltbush is a woody perennial shrub that is from 1 to 2.5 m (3.3 to 8.2 ft) tall. The 13 to 50 mm (0.5 to 2 in) evergreen leaves are flat and oblong with smooth edges. The leaves are attached directly to the stem in an alternating pattern.

Geographic range:
The four-winged saltbush is found from Oregon east to South Dakota and south to northern Mexico.

Habitat:
The four-winged saltbush is found on gentle slopes, plains, sand dunes, and arroyos to 2,134 m (7,000 ft) in elevation. It can grow in salty or alkaline soils hence the name salt bush.

Reproduction and Development:
The four-winged saltbush is a dioecious, separate male and female plants, plant that blooms from April to October. The male flowers are 1 to 2 mm( 0.125 in ) yellow globular spikes with many flowers radiating out from a central point. The female flowers are found on 5 to 38 cm ( 2 to 15 in ) long branching stems. The flowers have five sepals but no petals. The fruit contains one seed surrounded by four wings, hence the first part of the common name.

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Conservation:
The fruit is relished by grazing animals, and overgrazing can be a problem.

Other info:

The four-winged saltbush is unique in that it can change from female to male and back depending on growing conditions. It takes less energy to produce pollen than to produce a seed, so under stressful conditions a female plant may become a male. It has also been observed that plants may alternate its gender from one year to the next.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Chenopodiaceae
Genus: Atriplex
Species: Atriplex canescens

References:
Allred, Kelly W. 2000. A Field Guide to the Flora of the Jornada Plain. Las Cruces: NMSU Department of Animal and Range Science.

Bowers, Janice E. 1993. Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Desert. Tucson, AZ: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association.

Carter, Jack L. 1997. Trees and Shrubs of New Mexico. Silver City, NM : Mimbres Publishing.

Kearney , Thomas H. and Robert H. Peebles. 1951. Arizona Flora. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.

MacMahon, James A. 1987. Deserts. New York : Alfred A. Knoph, Inc.

Wooton, E.O. and Paul C. Standley. 1915. Flora of New Mexico. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Vol 19. Washington :Government Printing Office.

Related Terms: Magnoliophyta, Magnoliospida