Sarcobatus baileyi

Bailey's greasewood

Family: Sarcobataceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Bailey's greasewood is a rare California native shrub ranked 2B.3 by CNPS, found in eastern Sierra Nevada near Fish Lake Valley and in the desert mountains of the Coso Range in alkaline soils, dry lakes, and scrub habitats at elevations generally above 1,200 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces pale flowers on a generally spherical shrub with light gray stems. Growing 50 to 100 centimeters tall with a distinctive rounded form, it develops a compact, almost globe-like structure. Its branches are light gray, creating a distinctive architectural shape in arid landscapes. The shrub thrives in harsh alkaline environments, demonstrating remarkable adaptation to extreme desert conditions.

Habitat: Alkaline soils, dry lakes, washes, scrub, roadsides

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: generally > 1200 m

Bioregions: e SNE (Fish Lake Valley, Mono Co.), DMtns (Coso Range)

California counties: Mono

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