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Plant Profile

Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens var. gigantea)

Image of Atriplex canescens var. gigantea Photo Credit: Heidi Simper

Global Rank: T1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Chenopodiaceae
State: UT
Nature Serve ID: 150507
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 02/09/1992

Description:

Atriplex canescens var. gigantea, or giant four-wing saltbush, is a rare variety of a common species, Atriplex canescens, or four-wing saltbush. Giant four-wing saltbush grows at only one location in the wild--the Lynndyl Dunes in Juab County, Utah. The rare var. gigantea is considered a diploid (2n) of A. canescens, which is a tetraploid (4n), and the evolutionary significance of this has been the focus of evolutionary studies (see Current Research section). Regardless, this taxon is threatened with extinction because the one location where it occurs also happens to be a recreational area where off-road vehicle use, including racing events, are popular. Plants have been killed not only by vehicles driving directly over them, but also by campers in a nearby campground who break off the branches of this shrub for campfires. (Hreha 1995) Atriplex canescens var. gigantea is deserving of its common name, as it is a large shrub, reaching up to 12 feet in height and 15 feet in width. However, it has small leaves. The plant flowers in late June. It is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are found on different plants. The seeds are found in the middle of "four wings", hence the common name, four-wing saltbush.

Where is Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens var. gigantea) located in the wild?

Habitat:

These shrubs are found only on sand dunes. They are most often seen in inter-dunal valleys (swales) or on the active, leeward dune margins (protected against the wind).

Distribution:

Jericho Dunes, or Lynndyl Sand Dunes, near Lynndyl, Utah. This dune field is one of the largest in Utah, at about 20 miles long and 10 miles wide (220 square miles). The Bureau of Land Management ad

States & Provinces:

Fourwing Saltbush can be found in Utah

Which CPC Partners conserve Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens var. gigantea)?

Red Butte Garden and Arboretum

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

National Laboratory for Genetic Resource Preservation (USDA-ARS)

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 01/08/24

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Tina Stanley

01/08/2024

Red Butte Garden has sent at least 8,300 wild-collected seeds of Atriplex canescens var. gigantea to the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation for long term storage.

Tina Stanley

01/08/2024

Between 1992 and 1998, Red Butte Garden staff made 8 wild seed collections representing more than 10,900 seeds from at least 4 individuals of Atriplex canescens var. gigantea. Over 2,000 of these seeds are held in long term storage at Red Butte Garden.

08/27/2020

08/27/2020

As the result of a 1992 and 1993 Utah challenge cost share project between the Bureau of Land Management and the Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, the known population was surveyed and seeds were collected for propagation and storage. From this, management strategies were developed. (Hreha 1995)

08/27/2020

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Endemic to Utah, Atriplex canescens var. gigantea occurs in the interdune valleys of the Lynndyl Sand Dunes in Juab County.

Sylvia Torti

01/01/2010

Damage from Off-Road Vehicles Winter grazing cattle and wildlife High visitor use in campground areas (fire wood collection, wind shelters) Dry flower arrangements and use as landscape plants in desert landscapes

Sylvia Torti

01/01/2010

One known population in Jericho Dunes in Juab County, UT (Hreha 1995)

Sylvia Torti

01/01/2010

The presence of numerous varieties of Atriplex canescens have made it the subject of evolutionary studies (Stutz 1975, 1979a, 1979b) Barrow (1997) studied natural asexual reproduction in fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens. As the result of a 1992 and 1993 Utah challenge cost share project between the Bureau of Land Management and the Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, the known population was surveyed and seeds were collected for propagation and storage. From this, management strategies were developed. (Hreha 1995)

Sylvia Torti

01/01/2010

This area is managed by the BLM. They are attempting to restrict off-road vehicle use to certain areas of the dunes.

Sylvia Torti

01/01/2010

Continued monitoring of off-road vehicle use in the dune area, as well as a reintroduction/restoration feasibility study.

Sylvia Torti

01/01/2010

Additional propagation trials to ensure a successful protocol.