Millard County, Utah. 



Ecoty'pes of this species exhibit great variation in their natural growth habit. 

 As a result, many subspecies have been unjustifiably proposed. Plummer and others 

 (1966a) have pointed out that a particular form usually is found in a given area, but 

 that large variations may occur from bush to bush. For example, dwarf or short forms 

 less than 1 meter in height are commonly found in desert or highly alkaline areas 

 (fig. 14), whereas, forms that may reach 2 meters are usually observed in the higher 

 foothills of the j uniper-pinyon type (fig. 8). In the Little Sahara sand dunes of 

 west-central Utah, a giant form to 4 meters in height occurs (fig. 15). These different 

 ecotypes maintain the basic form of their parent stock when brought together on the 

 same site (Plummer and others 1966a; Stutz and others 1975); so differences are 

 genetically controlled. 



Use: Fourwing saltbush is one of the most valuable forage shrubs in arid range- 

 lands because of its abundance, accessibility, palatability, size, evergreen habit, 

 nutritive value, rate of growth, and large volume of foliage. Its leaves, stems, and 

 utricles provide browse in all seasons. In addition to providing forage and cover, 

 this species is one of the most important shrubs for use in rehabilitation of depleted 

 rangelands and in soil stabilization projects in western desert areas (Plummer and 

 others 1968) . Fourwing saltbush may be propagated easily by direct seeding, by 

 transplants, and by stem cuttings. 



Unfortunately, this species is a secondary or faculative selenium absorber and 

 thus may be mildly poisonous wliere selenium occurs in the soil (Kingsbur)- 1964; Davis 

 1972). Losses have occurred when livestock have little or nothing else to eat 

 (Hitchcock and others 1964) . 



Sampson and Jespersen (1963) gave fourwing saltbush a browse rating of good to 

 fair for sheep, goats, and deer; and fair to poor for cattle and horses. 



10 



