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Atriplex canescens

Common name:	Grey Sage Brush	Family:	Chenopodiaceae
Author:	(Pursh.)Nutt.	Botanical references:	11, 60, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	No member of this genus contains any toxins, all have more or less edible leaves. However, if grown with artificial fertilizers, they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves.
Range:	Central and western N. America - South Dakota to Kansas, Texas, California and Mexico.
Habitat:	Found mainly on dry saline soils[11, 60].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	5	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. canescens ssp. linearis[B] A. canescens var. linearis[B,C,CAL] A. linearis[B] Calligonum canescens[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chamiso [S], Four-Winged Saltbush [S], Four-wing Saltbush [DEN2,B], Four-winged Saltbush, Chamiso Blanco [S], Fourwing Saltbush [P,FEIS], Saltbush [E,S],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	canescens = grayed;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico(Seri); Us(Navajo)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 1.8m by 1.8m . It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in August. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 5/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Colouring; Drink; Leaves; Seed.

Leaves - cooked or raw[85, 94. A very acceptable taste with a salty tang[K]. The leaves can be used at any time of the year though winter harvesting must be light because the plant is not growing much at this time of year[K].
Seed - cooked[46, 61]. Ground into a powder, mixed with cereals and used in making cakes etc or used as a piñole[94, 95, 183]. It is small and very fiddly to utilize[K]. The ground up seed can also be mixed with water and drunk as a refreshing beverage[183].
The burnt green herb yields culinary ashes high in minerals and these are used by the Hopi Indians to enhance the colour of blue corn products[183, 257]. The ashes can be used like baking soda[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Skin; Stings.

The leaves can be made into a soapy lather and used as a wash on itches and rashes such as chickenpox[257]. A poultice of the crushed leaves can be applied to ant bites to reduce the pain and swelling[257].

Other Uses

Dye; Fire retardant; Hedge; Potash.

A good hedge in maritime areas, it responds well to trimming[K].
The leaves and stems were burnt by the Hopi Indians and the alkaline ash used to maintain the blue colour when cooking blue corn[216].
A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves and stems[257].
The leaves can be made into a soapy lather and used as a hair wash[257].
The plant has fire-retardant properties and can be used for barrier plantings to control bush fires[200].

Cultivation details

Requires a position in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil[11, 134, 200]. Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils[200]. Plants are very tolerant of maritime exposure, though they dislike wet climates[K]. Resents root disturbance when large. Succeeds in a hot dry position.
A very ornamental plant[60], though it is liable to succumb to winter wet when grown on heavy or rich soils[11, 200].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Occasional monoecious plants are found[274].
Individual plants can change sex. The change is more generally from female to male and is apparently associated with stress such as cold or drought. It would appear that the change confers a survival advantage on the plant[274].

Propagation

Seed - sow April/May in a cold frame in a compost of peat and sand. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 weeks at 13°c[134]. Pot up the seedlings when still small into individual pots, grow on in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a very sandy compost in a frame. Very easy. Pot up as soon as they start to root (about 3 weeks) and plant out in their permanent positions late in the following spring[K].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, November/December in a frame. Very easy. Pot up in early spring and plant out in their permanent position in early summer[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Atriplex canescens var. linearis (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

References for the family Chenopodiaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[216] Whiting. A. F. Ethnobotany of the Hopi North Arizona Society of Science and Art 1939
A very good guide the the plant uses of the N. American Hopi Indians.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Atriplex canescens

Carol Sat Apr 28 00:50:18 2001

Atriplex canescens is also highly rated in a Colorado study of plants that attract beneficial (to humans) insects. In particular, it attracts lacewings, ladybugs, and hoverflies.

And it tastes good, too? Since this plant is native to the drier parts of western North America, however, and since several web sites mention that different specimens can vary sufficiently to come close to being different species, I am hesitant to try it. Does anyone know where to buy seeds or plants of an explicitly good-tasting variety? And will this plant grow well in the eastern U.S.? (I am in south-central Indiana, with almost 40 inches of rain in an average year, and winter temperatures that occasinally get into the -20's F.

Cross references: Web-pages: Hedges and their uses.

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