Four-Wing Saltbush
Providing food and shelter for man and animal for millenia
The four-wing saltbush exists all over the western portion of western North America, including some parts of southwestern Canada.
The four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) is one of the hardiest native plants in the desert regions of North America and a great plant for desert gardens.
Four-wing saltbush is closely related to a European species (Atriplex hortensis), which is also known as French or mountain spinach, and which has been cultivated in Mediterranean regions from early times.
A lover of alkaline soils (and thus the name “saltbush), the plant also grows well in and along arroyos.
The leaves of the saltbush also have a salty flavor and this may also have contributed to the common name of the plant.
Quail, jays, mockingbirds, bluebirds and other songbirds and small mammals (ground squirrels, desert rodents) find cover and protection from winter cold and summer sun within its branches. Deer (both whitetail and mule deer), antelope, rabbits, and hare (jackrabbits) forage on the leaves while some birds eat the seeds of the plant. The larval form of some Lepidoptera also uses it as food.
Saltbush will grow from around 2,000 feet in altitude to above 8,000 feet, has a very long life span and is highly drought-resistant.
It will grow over three feet high and has a five to six foot spread.
The term “four-wing” comes from the shape of the seeds, which have four "wings" protruding from the seed head at right angles to it.
The wind picks up these seeds when they are ripe and carries them great distances. Animals also distribute the seeds when the seeds attach themselves to fur or feathers and then fall off later.
Four-wing saltbush ranges as far north as Washington (including some southwestern, more temperate of Canada) east to North Dakota and Kansas, and south well into Mexico.
Although irregular in appearance, the four-wing saltbush makes an excellent accent plant or hedge.
It grows up to fifteen feet tall, although three to five feet is more common. Leaves are about one-half inch long, and grayish-white. There are little bladder-like growths on the leaves, which store salts. It is thought that the salt in these bladders may help protect the plant from winter freezes.
Edible relatives of Atriplex (members of the Chenopodiacae family), in addition to French spinach include Swiss chard (beta vulgaris circla) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea).
It is also closely related to pigweed, also known as amaranth and Russian thistle (Salsola), also known as tumbleweed. Pigweed has been classified in two families: Amaranthus and Chenopodiacae.
There are varieties of micorrhizal fungi that live within the roots of four-wing saltbush and assist in breaking down nutrients for the plant to intake. Seedlings naturally sown benefit from these fungi, and tend to have an advantage over seedlings of other desert plants.
