Atriplex elegans var. elegans

Wheelscale saltbush

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Wheelscale saltbush is a California native annual found in eastern desert regions in saline creosote-bush scrub at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers with pale green to whitish bracts. Growing with branching stems up to 30 centimeters tall, it forms a delicate, spreading structure across sandy or alkaline soils. Its leaves are entire to irregularly toothed, with blades that range from smooth-edged to having subtle, shallow indentations. The fruit bracts are distinctively shaped, with teeth 0.5 to 1 millimeter wide that create a finely sculpted margin.

Habitat: +- saline creosote-bush scrub

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: e D

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.