Quail Bush, Big saltbush, Quailbush,
Atriplex lentiformis
Family: Chenopodiaceae
What it is like
Atriplex lentiformis is an evergreen Shrub growing to 3 m (9ft 10in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to September, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
Height (m): 3
Where it is found
Saline to essentially non-saline drainages, stream and canal banks, roadsides, warm desert shrub, saltbush, and riparian communities at elevations of 70 - 1000 metres.
South-western N. America - California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Mexico.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
Iran, Israel, Mexico, North America, USA,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Leaves and young shoots - cooked. Seed - cooked. It can be used as a piñole or be ground into a meal and used as a porridge, a thickener in soups or added to flour for making bread. The seed is rather small and fiddly to use.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Medicine
Rating: 1
The fresh leaves can be chewed, or the dried leaves smoked, in the treatment of head colds. The crushed flowers, stems and leaves can be steamed and inhaled to treat nasal congestion. A poultice of the powdered roots has been applied to sores.
Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
Other
Rating: 2
The crushed leaves and roots have been used as a soap for washing clothes etc.
Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.
Soap: Plants used directly as a soap substitute.
How it is grown
Requires a position in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil. Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils. Succeeds in a hot dry position. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c. Forms growing in coastal and near coastal regions of California have somewhat broader, merely ovate, rounded leaves, and they have been regarded either at species level as Atriplex breweri S. Watson or as a sub-species of A. lentiformis. Plants are more commonly dioecious, though monoecious forms can also be found.
Propagating it: Seed - sow April/May in a cold frame in a compost of peat and sand. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 13°c. Pot up the seedlings when still small into individual pots, grow on in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy. Pot up as soon as they start to root (about 3 weeks) and plant out in their permanent positions late in the following spring. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, November/December in a frame. Very easy. Pot up in early spring and plant out in their permanent position in early summer.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 7-10
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
No member of this genus contains any toxins, all have more or less edible leaves. However, if grown with artificial fertilizers, they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves.