Shadscale scrub is a

plant community A plant community is a collection or Association (ecology), association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The comp ...

and

vegetation type Vegetation classification is the process of classifying and mapping the vegetation over an area of the Earth's surface. Vegetation classification is often performed by state based agencies as part of land use, resource and environmental management ...

that occurs in upper elevations of the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

and lower elevations 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 ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

, characterized by salt tolerant plants—

halophyte A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. ...

s. It is located at higher elevations than the saltbush scrub plant community, but shares some of its plant species.Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, p 16

Flora

The shadscale scrub vegetation type commonly includes: *hop-sage (''

Grayia spinosa ''Grayia spinosa'' is a species of the genus ''Grayia (plant), Grayia'' in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, which is known by the common names hop sage and spiny hop sage. It is widely distributed across ...

'') *winter fat (''

Krascheninnikovia lanata ''Krascheninnikovia lanata'' is a species of flowering plant currently placed in the family Amaranthaceae (previously, Chenopodiaceae), known by the common names winterfat, white sage, and wintersage. It is native to much of western North Americ ...

''). Shared members with higher elevation saltbush scrub include: *goosefoot family (

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

) members *four-wing saltbrush (''

Atriplex canescens ''Atriplex canescens'' (or chamiso, chamiza, four-wing saltbush) is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae (subfamily Chenopodioideae) native to the western and midwestern United States. Description ''Atriplex canescens'' has ...

'' *shadscale (''

Atriplex confertifolia ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Description The height of ''Atriplex confertifolia'' vari ...

'') *cattle spinach, or all-scale ('' Atriplex polycarpa''). Other species can include: *''

Calochortus excavatus ''Calochortus excavatus'' is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Inyo County star-tulip. Distribution The flowering plant is endemic to eastern California, where it is known from several reduced and threaten ...

'' — Inyo County star tulip.

References

{{reflist . . Plant communities of California Halophytes

Flora

See also

References