Atriplex lentiformis (Torr.) S. Watson

vernacular big saltbush — species · Chenopodiaceae

USDA: ATLE
GBIF: 3083785
Rank: species

big saltbush (Atriplex lentiformis) — Platephotograph · Kenneth BaderCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

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

§2a

Native status, by region

HI Hawaii Introduced
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 7 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 7 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: Low
Fire: High
Salinity: High
Anaerobic: High
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: High

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: 7 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 195 min.
Precipitation: 4–20 in/yr
pH range: 7–10
Root depth: 20 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Moderate
Mature height: 10 ft
Height @ 20 y: 10 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Dense
Porosity (winter): Moderate
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: Yes
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Early Summer
Seed abundance: High
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 800,000
Propagation: seed, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

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

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 7 counties across 1 state.

Arizona view state ↗ 7 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

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

plants.usda.gov/ATLE ↗

GBIF Backbone

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

gbif.org/species/3083785 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T05:06:36Z