The Plant List

Atriplex canescens

Common: Fourwing saltbush, Chamise, Chamize, Chamiso, White greasewood, Saltsage, Fourwing shadscale, Bushy atriplex
Family: Chenapodiaceae
Origin: Native to western North America
Temperature: Hardy to 0 degrees
Light: Full sun to reflected sun and heat
Soil: Tolerates wide range of soils but prefers good drainage
Water: Water every month or two in dry weather for acceptable landscape appearance.

Grows 4 to 8 feet with equal spread. Moderate to rapid growth with irrigation. Slender dense leaves covered with gray mealy coating. Flower clusters open at stem terminals. Plants are male or female. Female plants fruit heavily, each fruit enclosed by bracts that form four wings.

Deep-rooted shrub good for erosion control and re-vegetation. Good fire-retardant characteristics. May be clipped to form hedge.

Fourwing saltbush provides excellent browse for deer season long. It is a good browse plant for bighorn sheep, antelope, and elk in fall and winter. It is also a food source and excellent cover for sharptail grouse, gray partridge (Huns), sage grouse, and other upland birds, rabbits, songbirds, and small mammals