76 American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



in clusters of 1 to several in the leaf-axils; fruits small, seed-like, enclosed 

 by the fleshy calyx. 



Occurrence. — ZION : just outside western park boundary along road to Petrified 

 Forest, 4,000 feet. 



WiNTERFAT {Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Moq.). — Low shrub with slender 

 branches; herbage densely white-fuzzy, or later turning rusty; leaves ^ to 1^4 

 inches long, oblong or linear due to inrolled margins; flowers borne along the 

 stems in the upper leaf-axils, without petals, the male and female flowers 

 borne separately on the same or on different plants; fruits small, seed-like, 

 covered with cottony hairs nearly ^ inch long. 



This is a widespread species in the West, particularly in dry locations, 

 commonly in association with greasewood, saltbush, or mesquite. The whole 

 plant is whitish or rusty with long matted hairs and hence is often called 

 white sage. In late summer the ends of the branches are covered with white- 

 cottony fruiting masses. The plant is very nutritious and is much valued as 

 a winter feed for animals. The seeds are eaten as well as the herbage. 



Occurrence. — YELLOWSTONE, occasional : between Mammoth and Gardiner. MESA 

 VERDE, rare: along the highway near the north entrance. GRAND CANYON. South Rim: 

 r^asture Wash. 6.300 feet. 



Spiny Hop-sage (Grayia sp'mosa Moq.). — Low, bushy shrub, 1 to 3 

 feet high; bark more or less shreddy; branchlets pale, usually spine-tipped; 

 herbage grayish- white, mealy or scurfy when young, the older green; leaves 

 small, spatula-shaped, 1/3 to 1^ inches long, somewhat fleshy; male flowers 

 small, borne in inconspicuous greenish clusters in the leaf-axils; female flowers 

 borne close together at the ends of the branches; fruits seed-like achenes sur- 

 rounded by a pair of united bracts forming a roundish wing-like sac ^ to ^4 

 inch in diameter, notched at the tip. This plant is excellent as a browse for 

 animals, being especially nutritious and fattening when in fruit. 



Occurrence. — YELLOWSTONE, rare: Gardiner River north of Mammoth Hot Springs. 

 ZlON. GRAND CANYON, in the canyon. 



Saltbush (A triplex L.) 



The saltbushes are commonly found in the dry salt or alkali plains of the 

 Southwest and the Great Basin area where they often form the dominant 

 species over extensive areas. The plants furnish important forage for animals. 

 The salt flavor of the herbage apparently makes it especially palatable and 

 the fruits, which are usually produced very abundantly, are reputed to be 

 very nutritious and fattening. The Indians of the Southwest boiled the stems 

 for flavoring wheat or com pudding, i^ Also the seeds were dried, parched 

 and ground into a meal for food. 



Field Guide to the Species 



Bushes more or less spiny; leaves egg-shaped or elliptic, rounded at the tip, |/^ to 

 2/3 mch long; fruit with 2 wing-like bracts spreading fan-like from the 

 top of the seed, these roundish or somewhat triangular, 1/3 to % inch 

 long, the margins sometimes shallowly toothed I. A. confertifolia. 



16 Yanovsky, Elias, Food plants of the North American Indians: United States 

 Department of Agriculture, publication 237, p. 21, 1936. 



