SafePlants

Atriplex canescens: F-wing Saltbush and More

Atriplex canescens, commonly known as F-wing Saltbush (also sometimes spelled Fwing Saltbush or fwing saltbush), Chamise, or Chamiza, is an evergreen shrub native to western North America.

Considerations for Pets

• This plant is a shrub.
• The plant produces seeds that have papery wings.

Considerations for Children

• This plant is a shrub.
• The plant produces seeds that have papery wings.
• Native Americans used this plant for food.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Scientific Name: Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt.
• Family: Amaranthaceae (formerly Chenopodiaceae, the Goosefoot Family)
• Kingdom: Plantae (Plants)
• Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (Vascular plants)
• Superdivision: Spermatophyta (Seed plants)
• Division: Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)
• Plant Symbol: ATCA2

Distribution and Habitat

• Widespread and often dominant on salty or alkaline soils of western North America.
• Found from Mexico through to Canada.
• Native to dry areas, particularly the western U.S.
• Abundant in the Great Basin region.
• Ecologically important range plant in arid southwestern U.S.A. rangelands.

Ecological Role

• Widely used for reclamation plantings.

Morphological Characteristics

• Evergreen shrub, extremely variable in form (compact, rounded, sprawling, open-branched, or treelike).
• Typically grows to 1.8 meters (6 feet) in height and spread, but can reach up to 2 meters (6 feet), or even 1.5 - 3 meters (5 - 10 feet) occasionally.
• Heavily branched.
• Leaves are alternate, linear to narrow, gray-green, and densely white-scaly, typically 1 inch long. Some sources describe the plant's leaves as glandular.
• Flowers are minute and greenish; summer flowers are described as insignificant, but it is noted the plant does produces clusters of gold-tan fruits.
• Deep-rooted.

Quirky Facts

• The common name "F-wing Saltbush" comes from the seed, which has papery wings that project from the seed at right angles.
• Native Americans in the American southwest used F-Wing Saltbush for both food and soap.

Interactions with Other Organisms

• Provides excellent browse for deer season long.
• Good browse plant for bighorn sheep, antelope, and elk in fall and winter.
• Readily hybridizes with several other species in the Atriplex genus.

Further Information

• USDA NRCS Idaho Plant Materials Program
• Encyclopedia of Life
• Dave's Garden
• ARKive
• Montana Seed Growers Association