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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Atriplex lentiformis | Big Saltbrush
 

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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

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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