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Sarcobatus vermiculatus

Common name:	Greasewood	Family:	Chenopodiaceae
Author:	(Hook.)Torr.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Sarcobatus maximiliani (Nees.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - Nebraska and Wyoming to Nevada and New Mexico.
Habitat:	Dry alkaline and saline soils[11].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Batis vermiculata[G] S. baileyi[B,P] S. vermiculatus var. baileyi[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Black Greasewood [FEIS], Greasewood [P,B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 2.7m. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower in July. 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 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained 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.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves Seed.

Young shoots - cooked[105, 161]. Used as greens[257]. The young twigs are cut into short pieces and boiled until tender[183].
The seeds are occasionally consumed[61, 105, 161, 183]. They are used as a food at times when other foods are in short supply[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Odontalgic Stings.

The crushed leaves have been used to treat insect bites[257].
An infusion of the burnt plant has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea and bleeding from the rectum[257].
The wood or the roots can be heated until they are burnt or blackened and then used on aching and decayed teeth[257].

Other Uses

Fuel Wood.

The wood is used for fuel, for want of better materials in the areas where it grows wild[235].
The wood is strong[257]. It has been used in general construction[257].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant[200], succeeding in a sunny position in most well-drained soils[11, 200]. Tolerates alkaline and saline soils[11].
Plants can be dioecious or monoecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in early spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood are worth trying in July/August.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[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 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

[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.

[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.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[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

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

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