Index / Search / Sarcobatus vermiculatus

§1 Plant — species · Chenopodiaceae

Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook.) Torr.

vernacular greasewood


USDA
SAVE4
GBIF
3083990
Rank
species
greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus)
Platephotograph · Tim MessickCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Chenopodiaceae Vent.
Genus
Sarcobatus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
High
Moisture use
Low
Salinity
High
Anaerobic
Low
CaCO₃
High
Hedging
Medium
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
110 min.
Precipitation
6–13 in/yr
pH range
7.5–8.5
Root depth
12 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Rapid
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
10 ft
Height @ 20 y
6 ft
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Yellow-Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Green
Fruit colour
Red
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
Moderate
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
245,333
Propagation
seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Contracting Only
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 23 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/SAVE4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/3083990 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z