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Fourwing Saltbush

Scientific Name: Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt.
Common Name: Fourwing Saltbush

Morphological Characteristics:

Habit- native perennial shrub with erect stems reaching 1 to 2 millimeters tall; evergreen; flowers April to October; reproduces by seed
Leaves- alternate silver-gray leaves
Flowers- male and female flowers on separate plants
Fruit - a four winged bract
Habitat and Range - occurs on dry mesas and alkaline valleys in West Texas; also infrequent in the western half of the Rio Grande Plain

Conservation Use:

Why collect this plant? Texas Plant Materials Centers have identified this plant as having potential benefits to the following conservation practice standards: 550 Range Planting, 610 Salinity and Sodic Soil Management, and 645 Upland Wildlife Habitat. Your assistance in collecting this plant helps support the NRCS conservation practice standards which are employed daily to conserve the natural resources of Texas!

Center Requesting Seed:

E. Kika de la Garza Plant Material Center

How to Collect Seed

  1. Identify native plant stands in your area. You can go to the following websites for helpful photos http://plants.usda.gov or http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/index.html or www.wildflower.org.
  2. Determine if seed is mature. Mature seed is typically dry and will easily separate from the seed head.  Hand strip mature seed by grasping the bottom of the seed head then gently pulling away from the base of the plant. Deposit seed in a brown paper sack. Collect seed from a minimum of 30 to 50 plants.
  3. Label each collection as it is made so collections do not get mixed up. Information required includes: Collector’s name, number of plants collected, location (parish, city, highway, GPS coordinates), site description (soil type, slope, plants growing in association).
  4. Complete NRCS-ECS-580; Plant Collection Information Form and mail with collected seeds to the NRCS Plant Materials Center requesting the species.

E. Kika de la Garza Plant Materials Center
3409 N FM 1355
Kingsville, TX 78363

Helpful Tips

Look for superior plants that display differences in color, height, or forage abundance and record observations. Differences in growing site or location should be made into separate collections if they are separated by more than 1 mile between sites.

Photos:

Fourwing saltbush
fourwing saltbush plant fourwing saltbush plant fourwing saltbush plant

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NRCS Species for 2007 Plant Collections - Fourwing Saltbush (PDF; 373 KB)