Fourwing saltbush

Atriplex canescens

Greatly branched evergreen to deciduous shrub from 2-10 ft. tall with red to yellowish-brown or nondescript flowers, blooming April to October. Adapted to all soil textures, including clays but most common on well-drained, coarse soils and is saline and alkaline tolerant; up to 9,000 ft. elevation. Intolerant of high water tables and inundation. Important and often dominant in numerous types of desert shrub communities within the Great Basin, Great Plains, Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. Some populations are rhizomatous and may sprout after low-severity fire. Excellent palatability to browsing livestock and wildlife with protein, fat and carbohydrate content similar to Alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Especially valuable forage during fall, winter and drought. Excellent cover and seeds for birds and small mammals, providing water for black-tailed jackrabbits, which are a major food source of golden eagles. Foliage fed on by numerous insects and is a caterpillar host of the MacNeill’s saltbush sootywing, Saltbush sootywing and San emigdio blue butterflies.