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| Tubercled Saltbush, Salt Bush, Salt Brush, Cock's-comb Saltbush Atriplex acanthocarpa Chenopodiaceae Tubercled saltbush grows in alkaline flats, gypseous clays, and sometimes somewhat saline soils in the Trans-Pecos and South Texas. It is a low-growing, rounded, evergreen shrub with silver-gray leaves, and flat tubercles (small tuber-like projections)on the spongy fruiting bracts which resemble a rooster's comb. A. acanthocarpa is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are on different plants. Atriplex have an adaptive capacity for tolerating very hot, very dry, saline sites. In the landscape, saltbushes are useful as hedges, or as backdrops where their attractive silvery foliage makes a good contrast to green-leaved plants. They can also be used for windbreaks, roadside plantings, as a soil binder along canals and ditch banks, and as a ground cover. Plant Habit or Use: small shrub
Exposure: sun Flower Color: greenish gray, inconspicuous
Blooming Period: summer Fruit Characteristics: capsule compressed by spongy tubercled bracts Height: 2 to 4 feet Width: 2 to 4 feet Plant Character: evergreen Heat Tolerance: very high Water Requirements:
Soil Requirements: alkaline Additional Comments:
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