4 BULLETIN 1345, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
green, cylindrical, and succulent, and seem to be jointed by constric-_ 
tions at short distances along the stem. The leaves are nothing but 
small scales at the constrictions. The inconspicuous flowers and. J 
fruits, growing as terminal spikes, are just a little larger in ree 
than the stems on which they grow, so that, being of the same color, 
they are rarely recognized by casual observers. 
This species was described and named from specimens growing on — 
the shores of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Although it is the only species — 
of the genus known, it 1s widely distributed in strongly alkaline soils 
from eastern Or egon, south through Nevada and U tah, to California, 
Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas, and into Mexico. It never 
grows on any but alkaline soils and it will endure as much soil alka-_ 
linity as almost any other land plant. In California it is frequently 
found on “black alkali” spots. In California it is called iodine- 
weed, pickle-weed, and sometimes bushy samphire (/3), and in 
southern New Mexico it is called burro-weed. 
Department sample 8937 (G) consists of twigs, about 6 inches 
long, from the ends of stems in full bloom, collected at Mecca. Calif., 
in the Salton Basin, September, 1907. Department sample 11107 
(G) was collected at Winslow, Ariz., October, 1915, in alkali spots 
along the Little Colorado River. 
amd me? 
| | E | 
Composition (water-free basis) " 
: 
\ 
Sample ' Moisture E | 
Ash | Ether | Crude | pre i Protein | Pento- 
ves | extract | fiber | sans 
| extract 
| Per cent | Per cent | Percent | Percent | Percent | Percent | Per cent ' 
Department 8937 (G)___--_-____- 7.0 28.7 | 1.3 10.7 46.6 AAT 16.3 
Department 11107 (G)__-_-___-_- 4.8 31.7 | 2:3 15.4 41.1 9.8 13.2 
This species is eaten sparingly by stock when no better feed is 
obtainable. It usually has a very salty taste. 
ATRIPLEX ACANTHICARPA (Torr.) S. Wats. 
Atriplex acanthicarpa is a low, branching shrub, 18 inches to 2 
feet high, with almost white, scurfy leaves and stems. The leaves are 
an inch long or less and half as wide, with few coarse teeth. The 
frvits are most character istic, being one-seeded pods, covered by thick 
bracts about one-fourth of an inch long, beset with numerous blunt, 
stiff points, projecting in all directions. Produced in abundance on. 
the ends of the stems, they are very noticeable. 
This species, named from specimens collected on plains near the 
Burro Mountains of southern New Mexico, grows in alkaline soil in 
southern Arizona and New Mexico, as well as in western Texas, ex- 
tending into northern Mexico. It often covers completely the flat 
bottom of a basin where flood waters and alkali collect, or appears 
as a strip of bushes of varying width about the edges of such playas 
or on the dry gravelly ridges near by. 
Department. sample 8560 (G) is the growth of the year only, in| 
fruit, collected near El Paso, Tex., September 2 22, 1906. Depart- 
ment sample 8566 (G) consists of fruiting plants not yet ripe, col- 
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