''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

in the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae ( ) is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, maki ...

, which is native to the western

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Description

The height of ''Atriplex confertifolia'' varies from . Shadscale fruits and leaves provide important winter browse for domestic livestock and native herbivores. Compared to fourwing saltbush ('' Atriplex canescens''), shadscale has shorter and wider leaves and the fruit does not have four wings (although it may have two wings in a "V" shape). This species blooms from March to June. Maximum osmotic pressure has been reported in Atriplex conf. where it is about 202.5 atm.

Distribution and habitat

Shadscale is a common, often dominant, shrub in the lowest and driest areas of the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

. It prefers sandy, well-drained soils and it is tolerant of moderately saline conditions. Its habitats include alkaline desert valleys, hillsides, and bluffs.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Atriplex confertifolia'' (shadscale)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Atriplex confertifolia''Missouri Botanical Garden: photo of herbarium isotype specimen of ''Atriplex subconferta'' (synonym of ''A. confertifolia'')
— ''collected in Wyoming (1911).'' * confertifolia Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region Flora of the Great Basin Plants described in 1845 Taxa named by John Torrey Forages Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Amaranthaceae-stub