Atriplex confertifolia

Atriplex confertifolia, shadscale is spread throughout the western U.S. as

illustrated by the distribution map shown below, but it is highly concentrated in

the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau. It grows alongside greasewood

and sagebrush in salt desert shrub plant communities. Shadscale is a native

plant to Utah and grows to be about 8-32 inches tall and 12-68 inches wide. It

is a halophyte or “salt loving” plant. Salt is concentrated on the leaves of the

shadscale in trichomes. It can tolerate harsh conditions including dry, salty

climates. Seasonal precipitation cycles influence the growth of the shadscale

and because of this characteristic many plants can flower at the beginning

of March and some plants don’t flower until late spring to early summer.

Shadscale is dioecious and wind pollinated. Fruits usually occur 25 weeks

after flowering. Shadscale can form hybrids with many other Atriplex

species. The hybrids are present all across the Great Basin. Shadscale

is common and abundant in Utah as shown in the distribution map to the

right, but it is hard to tell what exact species you come across because of

the tremendous rates of hybridization in this family.