Saltbush scrub is a
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
plant community and vegetation type, found above and beyond the
alkali sink
An alkali sink is a salty basin land form. The term may also refer to a North American desert vegetation type (biome) characteristic of that landform.Pam MacKay, Mojave Desert Wildflowers, 2nd Ed., p. 15-16 Rainwater drains to the basin and collec ...
Shadscale scrub Shadscale scrub is a plant community and vegetation type that occurs in upper elevations of the Mojave Desert and lower elevations of the Great Basin ecoregion or biome, characterized by salt tolerant plants— halophytes.
It is located at higher ...
type.
Halophyte plants must deal with salt in the soil, but in less high concentrations than are found in the alkali sink shadscale scrub zone.
[Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, p 16] Alkali sink vegetation grades into saltbrush scrub.
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]
Flora
Common species include members of the goosefoot family ( Chenopodiaceae), such as:[
* four-wing saltbrush ('']Atriplex canescens
''Atriplex canescens'' (or chamiso, chamiza, four-wing saltbush) is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae native to the western and midwestern United States.
Description
''Atriplex canescens'' has a highly variable form, and ...
'')
*shadscale ('' Atriplex confertifolia'')
*cattle spinach, or all-scale (''Atriplex polycarpa
''Atriplex polycarpa'', the allscale, (or all-scale) cattle spinach, allscale saltbush, or cattle saltbush, is a plant in the family Amaranthaceae.
It is native to the Southwestern United States, California, and northern Mexico.
This species bl ...
'').
The shadscale scrub community vegetation also has these family Chenopodiaceae species, but is found at higher elevations.[
]
See also
* Shadscale scrub plant community
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References
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Plant communities of California
Halophytes