Atriplex confertifolia (Torr. & Frém.) S. Watson

vernacular shadscale saltbush — species · Chenopodiaceae

USDA: ATCO
GBIF: 8257585
Rank: species

shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) — Platephotograph · Matt LavinCC BY-SA source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Subshrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Chenopodiaceae Vent.
Genus: Atriplex

§2a

Native status, by region

L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 16 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 16 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: High
Shade: High
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: Low
Salinity: High
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: Medium

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -38 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 165 min.
Precipitation: 4–12 in/yr
pH range: 7.5–9
Root depth: 10 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Slow
Lifespan: Moderate
Mature height: 3 ft
Height @ 20 y: 3 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: Yes
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Early Summer
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 60,585
Propagation: seed, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: No
Browse palatability: High
Graze palatability: High
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Medium
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 16 counties across 1 state.

Montana view state ↗ 16 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/ATCO ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/8257585 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z