Atriplex confertifolia

Atriplex confertifolia
File:Atriplexconfertifolia.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Chenopodiaceae
Genus:	Atriplex
Species:	A. confertifolia
Binomial name
Atriplex confertifolia Torr. & Frém.
Synonyms
Atriplex collina Wooton & Standl. Atriplex jonesii Standl. Atriplex sabulosa M.E.Jones 1903 not Rouy 1890 Atriplex subconferta Rydb. Obione confertifolia Torr. & Frém. Obione rigida Torr. & Frém.

Atriplex confertifolia (shadscale) is a species of evergreen shrub in the Chenopodiaceae family, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico.

Habitat

Shadscale is a common, often dominant, shrub in the lowest and driest areas of the Great Basin. It prefers sandy, well-drained soils and it is tolerant of moderately saline conditions.

Description

The height of Atriplex confertifolia varies from . Shadscale fruits and leaves provide important winter browse for domestic livestock and native herbivores. Compared to fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), shadscale has shorter and wider leaves and the fruit does not have four wings (although it may have two wings in a "V" shape).

This species blooms from March to June.

External links

• United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: Atriplex confertifolia
• University of California/Jepson Manual treatment - Atriplex confertifolia
• photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected 1911 in Wyoming, isotype specimen of Atriplex subconferta (synonym of A. confertifolia)