BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Atriplex lentiformis | Big Saltbrush 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Big saltbrush is a deep-rooted, fast-growing, native perennial shrub
[20].  Branches are numerous, widespreading, slender, and flexible [29].
It normally grows to a height of 0.5 to 5.0 feet (0.15-1.52 m) [6,29],
but may reach 10.0 feet (3.0 m) in areas where the water table is high
[15].  Leaves are thickish with a fine, scaly surface and are 0.3 to 2.0
inches (1.0-5.0 cm) long and 0.15 to 1.6 inches (0.5-4.0 cm) wide
[6,29].  They are deciduous in desert ecotypes but tend to be evergreen
elsewhere [6,29].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte
   Chamaephyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Flowers:  Big saltbrush flowers are dioecious and wind pollinated [21].
These plants have the ability to alter their sexual state from one
season to the next in response to environmental conditions [10].  Plants
which change sex appear to begin reproducing earlier than pistillate
plants, while producing as many seeds [10].

Seeds and Germination:  Big saltbrush plants produce many seeds [27,29]
which are borne on bracts and wind dispersed [21].  Seeds germinate
well without pretreatment or light [30,34].

Vegetative reproducition:  Big saltbrush has been vegetatively
propagated by means of stem cuttings [30,33].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Big saltbrush is a phretophyte and halophyte that is found in both
coastal and desert habitats [20].  Coastal populations typically occur
at the base of coastal bluffs and on coastal floodplains [20].  Interior
populations are found along valley bottoms and margins of dry lakebeds
[14], where groundwater of moderate salinity is available [20].

Soils:  Big saltbrush usually grows on poorly drained, saline, and/or
saline-sodic soils [14,15,29,31,] with a pH from 7.5 to 8.3 [28].

Elevation:  This shrub occurs from 300 to 4,500 feet (91-1,372 m)
[29,32] but most commonly below 1,600 feet (488 m) [6].

Temperature/Precipitation:  Big saltbrush typically occurs in areas with
mean annual temperatures of 59 to 71 degrees Fahrenheit (14.8-21.9 deg
C) and 3 to 16 inches (7.6-40.6 cm) of mean annual precipitation [20].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Big saltbrush exhibits characteristics of a stress-tolerant ruderal and,
therefore, occurs in early to mid-seral communities.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Big saltbrush flowers mature from June to August.  Fruits mature from
September to October [29].  Maximum growth occurs in early summer [20].

Related categories for Species: Atriplex lentiformis | Big Saltbrush