Saltbush is a shrub, 1-5 dm tall. Its base is woody and the numerous upper stems are herbaceous. It has alternate, linear-oblong, stalkless leaves. Leaves are 6 times as long as they are wide and are green-grey and scruffy. Male and female flowers are usually on separate plants.
Saltbush grows from Washington south to northwestern California, east to Saskatchewan and the Dakotas, south through Wyoming and Colorado, to New Mexico and Arizona. It grows on clay soils with a pH between 7.8 and 8.6. Soils are typically low in available phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium (8). In the Mixed Prairie and Parkland regions of the Prairie Provinces of Canada, saltbush grows on dry alluvial flats, eroded slopes, badlands, and on saline and alkaline clay soils (14,22,24).
Saltbush provides forage for livestock, antelope, mule deer, and rabbits.
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