Use: Prostrate kochia shows considerable potential for becoming a valuable forage 

 and cover plant on our arid western ranges. In its native habitat, it is a drought- 

 resistant, salt-tolerant species and is highly valued as a forage plant. Sheep, goats, 

 camels, and horses all use it (Shishkin 1936). Our preliminary observations in Utah 

 indicate that this species is sought out by mule deer. Kochia readily establishes from 

 seed, grows rapidly and, under favorable conditions, reaches sexual maturity in 1 year 

 (McArthur and others 1974). Once established, it is a good natural spreader. 



Sarcobatus vermiculatus (black greasewood) 



Black greasewood is an erect, spiny-branched shrub to 3 m tall (fig. 42). Its 

 numerous rigid branches become gray with age. The deciduous, bright-green leaves are 

 1 to 4 cm long, narrowly linear, and semiterete. 



This shrub is usually monoecious with staminate flowers borne in catkinlike spikes 

 0.5 to 3 cm long. These flowers lack both sepals and petals and consist only of two to 

 three stamens borne under closely packed, long-stalked, shieldlike bracts. The 

 pistillate flowers are borne below the staminate catkin in the axils of reduced leaf- 

 like bracts. These flowers have a closely compressed calyx barely 1 mm long at 

 anthesis, which greatly enlarges in fruit. The flowers bloom from May to July. 



The pistils are enclosed by cuplike perianths. The lower portion of each perianth 

 becomes adherent to the ovary and the upper portion expands into a broad, membranous, 

 horizontal wing, 6 to 13 mm wide, in the fruit (fig. 7) . Cleaned seeds of this species 

 average approximately 285,600 (630/g) cleaned seed per pound. 



Hybridization: Drobnick and Plummer (1966) reported a small population of putative 

 hybrid derivatives of fourwing saltbush and black greasewood growing among parental 

 species on the east side of the Lakeside Mountains north of Delle, Tooele County, Utah. 



Figure 42. — Black greasewood fSarcobatus verraiculatusJ growing near Tuba City, 

 Coconino County, Arizona. 



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