Saltbush Atriplex canescens

Characteristics

The fourwing saltbush shrub is abundant throughout the southwest. It can be found in a range of habitat, from sandy desert washes to pinyon-juniper woodlands. It grows up to 5 feet in height and has small, densely branched stems. Its' leaves are canoe-shaped and grayish-green in color. The saltbush produces both male and female flowers on separate bushes. The female flowers produce numerous 4-winged bracts that are papery thin. The saltbush is in the goosefoot family.

Ethnobotany

The saltbush plant was highly prized by the ancient people who inhabited the Four Corners area. The seeds of the saltbush have been found in many Ancient Puebloan sites, in the feces of the people who once lived there. The branches of the plant were also used as fuel at that time. The historic tribes in the area have used the saltbush for many purposes as well. The Navajo have made poultices from the plant for insect bites. They have also used the plant for stomach pains, cough medicine, toothaches, and hair tonic. They considered the saltbush to be a good forage for sheep and also made a yellow dye from its' leaves and twigs. The Hopi have eaten its young leaves as greens, boiled them with meat, and mixed them with cornmeal to make a pudding. They have also used the ashes from the saltbush as a substitute for baking soda and to maintain the blue coloring in blue cornmeal or piki bread. The Paiute have ground the saltbush seeds into a flour to make mush.

Notes

The University of Michigan-Dearborn Native American Ethnobotany Database
http://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb

Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands by Francis H. Elmore & Jeanne R. Janish

Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners by William W. Dunmire & Gail D. Tierney

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