Plant Name
Scientific Name: Atriplex canescens
Common Names: Fourwing Saltbush, Four-wing Saltbush, Chamise, Chamize, Chamiso, Shadscale
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial, Evergreen
Growth Habit: Shrub
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain
Flower Color: Inconspicuous (yellowish, greenish)
Flowering Season: Summer
Height: To 8 feet (2.4 m) tall, but usually half that
Description: The yellowish male flowers are in dense spikes at the branch tips. The greenish female flowers are axillary and inconspicuous. The seeds are enclosed in 4-winged, membranous capsules. The leaves are grayish green and narrowly linear in shape. This plant is very salt and drought tolerant.
Special Characteristics
Allergenic – This plant's pollen is a severe allergen.
Edible – The ground seed and the raw or cooked leaves are edible.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Chenopodiaceae – Goosefoot family
Genus: Atriplex L. – saltbush
Species: Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt. – fourwing saltbush
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