SALT BUSH : SALT BUSH

The four-wing saltbush is a hardy bush, able to live through fire and drought in the salty desert sand.

Usually reaching a height of 3 to 6 feet, the dense, squat bush spreads out 4 to 8 feet. The evergreen’s thick but narrow silvery gray leaves spread out in small groups from the center stem. The 1- to 2-inch-long leaves are scaly and mealy to the touch. The whitish stem is lined conspicuously with several pale tan four-winged seedpods.

There are more than 100 species of the saltbush, or Atriplex canescens , around the world, 30 in California. The species pictured here near the Santa Clara River in Santa Clarita is the most widely distributed.

The saltbush grows naturally in Southern California in the alkaline and sandy soils of the Colorado and Mojave deserts. Gardeners have found that it also grows well in seashore gardens, where the plants are used primarily for their striking silvery color.

But the saltbush also is useful as a fire-resistant plant on arid hillsides. It chars but quickly grows back. Several varieties can be planted in sandy areas to control erosion.

Desert Indians used to grind the seeds into a meal for cooking. Wild animals and livestock like to munch on saltbush, and birds are attracted by its seeds and flowers.