_edited_p.png)
Wingscale
Scientific Name:
Atriplex canescens
Type:
Shrub
Habitat:
Dry, barren flats
Range:
Great Basin
Status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
This species is
NATIVE
to the Truckee Meadows.
Identification:
The wingscale shrub can range from 3 to 8 feet tall. The shrub is generally mound-shaped. Its shape varies widely from compact and rounded, laying low to the ground to open-branched and treelike. The branches are small; the leaves are green and narrow. This shrub thrives in dry, salty areas.
Fast Facts:
Wingscale is a great food source for birds, rabbits, bighorn sheep, antelope, elk, and other small mammals.
Wingscale also has excellent drought tolerance. It has been planted in highway medians and on road shoulders.
According to iNaturalist, wingscale shrubs can be found within Washoe County parks as well as in the Sparks area.
Sources:
iNaturalist, Fourwing Saltbush Atriplex canescens, 2021, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/74175929
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Atriplex canescens, 2021, https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=atca2
USDA PLANTS Database, Atriplex canescens, 2021, https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ATCA2
Image: Stan Shebs, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atriplex_canescens_var_canescens_3.jpg, license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en, cropped from original.
Contributor(s):
Crystal Sutton (research & content)
Alex Shahbazi (edits & page design)