Two-Wing & Four-Wing Saltbush
Wingscale, Cenizo and Chico
Atriplex canenscens
It gets its common name from the seed, which has four paper-like wings
that project from the seed at right angles. Four-wing saltbush shrubs
grow an average of two to three feet tall although they may reach
eight to fifteen feet in height. It has many branches; some twigs
are spiny.
Male and female flowers are found on separate plants. The tiny yellow
male flowers grow in tiny globular clusters; female flowers grow in
open,
elongated clusters two to sixteen inches long, arising from the sides
of the stem.
The flowers bloom from mid-spring to mid-summer. Some years, plants
may be cloaked with seeds. These shrubs are found mostly in alkaline
soils,
but also in gravelly washes or sandy soils.
Four-wing saltbush is an important browse plant for wildlife. Deer
and rabbits
feed on the leaves, while some birds and small mammals feed on the
seeds.
Small rodents use the shrub’s protective form for excavating
their burrows.
Native Americans of the Southwest harvested the leaves and seeds of
the plant
for food. Seeds were cooked like oatmeal, and the leaves were either
eaten raw or cooked. Sometimes the ashes of the plant were used as
a leavening ingredient for breads or were used in making a lye to
soften the hulls of corn.
However the seeds were prepared, they represented a good source of
niacin.
The ground-up seeds were mixed with sugar and water for a drink called
pinole.
The Zuni crushed the blossoms and mixed with a little water to create
a soap
for washing or treating ant bites; they also mixed the powder with
saliva
for insect
bites. Navajo chewed the stems for a salve for insect bites and also
made a yellow dye from an infusion of the twigs and leaves.
