Atriplex gardneri var. falcata

Falcate saltbush, Falcate Saltbush

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Falcate saltbush is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native shrub found in the Modoc Plateau in open, alkaline soils of sagebrush and chenopod scrub at elevations of 1,200 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers with grayish-green bracts. Growing as a decumbent to erect subshrub 10 to 60 centimeters tall, it develops several to many stems from the base with a distinctive gray, scaly appearance. Its leaves are oblong to narrowly oblanceolate, 15 to 45 millimeters long, covered in dense gray scales and displaying a distinctive grayish-green coloration. The plant produces small, fusiform fruit bracts 4 to 8 millimeters long with entire to slightly dentate margins.

Habitat: Open, generally alkaline soils, sagebrush scrub, chenopod scrub

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1200-1700 m

Bioregions: MP

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