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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Atriplex canescens var. gigantea

Family:	Chenopodiaceae
Common Names:	dune four-wing saltbush, giant four-wing Saltbush
Author:	Welsh & Stutz
Growth Habit:	Shrub
CPC Number:	517

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: Heidi Simper
Image Owner: Red Butte Garden
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Atriplex canescens var. gigantea is Not Sponsored

Primary custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants is:

Red Butte Garden and Arboretum

Sylvia Torti contributed to this Plant Profile.

Atriplex canescens var. gigantea

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.

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

Utah

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 administers about 45% of the total area of the dunes. (Hreha 1995)

Number Left

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

Protection

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Global Rank:	G5T1	11/4/1997	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	SC	1/19/1996	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	No

State/Area Protection

	State/Area	Rank	Status	Date
	Utah	S1		6/1/1998

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

� This variety is adapted to living on sand dunes, which are constantly moving. It has a fast growth rate and the ability to send down roots from the exposed trunk into the ground.
� The genetics, distributional, phenological and vegetative characteristics of this giant variety are remarkably different from those of its common relative, Atriplex canescens.

Source: Hreha 1995

Threats

� 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

Current Research Summary

� 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)

Current Management Summary

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

Research Management Needs

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

Ex Situ Needs

Additional propagation trials to ensure a successful protocol.

References

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Books (Sections)

Stutz, H.C.; Sanderson, S.C. 1979. The role of polyploidy in the evolution of Atriplex canescens. In: Goodin, J.R.; Northington, D.K., editors. Arid Land Plant Resources. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University, International Center for Arid and Semi-Arid Land Studies. p 615-621.

Conference Proceedings

Hreha, A.M. Inventory and Monitoring of Giant Four-wing Saltbrush, Little Sahara Recreation Area, Juab County, Utah. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-283. Proceedings of the Southwestern Rare and Endangered Plant Conference; September 11-14; Flagstaff, AZ. In: Maschinski, J.; Hammond, H.D.; Holter, L., editors. 1996. USDA and US Forest Service. p 251-261.

Journal Articles

Barrow, J.R. 1997. Natural asexual reproduction in fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt. Journal of Arid Environments. 36: 267-270.

Brown, G.D. 1956. Taxonomy of American Atriplex. American Midland Naturalist. 55: 199-210.

Dunford, M.P. 1984. Cytotype distribution of Atriplex canescens (Chenopodiaceae) of southern New Mexico and adjacent Texas. Southwestern Naturalist. 29: 233-228.

Dunford, M.P. 1985. A statistical analysis of morphological variation in cytotypes of Atriplex canescens (Chenopodiaceae). Southwestern Naturalist. 30: 377-384.

Glenn, E.; Moore, D.; Sanderson, S.; Brown, J.J.; Lash, D.; Nelson, M.; Waugh, J. 1998. Comparison of growth and morphology of Atriplex canescens varieties occidentalis and angustifolia. Southwestern Naturalist. 43: 176-182.

Hreha, A.M. 1995. Ecology and Conservation of a Great Basin Endemic Species: Giant Four-wing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens var. gigantea). Sego Lily: Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Society. 18

Mansfield, D. 1995. The Unique Botany of Steens Mountain: The Rare and Endemic Plants. Kalmiopsis. 5: 10-?.

Sanderson, S.C.; Stutz, H.C. 1994. High chromosome numbers in Mojavean and Sonoran Desert Atriplex canescens (Chenopodiaceae). American Journal of Botany. 81: 1045-1053.

Stutz, H.C. 1978. Explosive evolution of perennial Atriplex in western America. Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs. 2: 161-168.

Stutz, H.C.; Melby, J.M.; Livingston, G.K. 1975. Evolutionary studies of Atriplex: a relic gigas diploid population of Atriplex canescens. American Journal of Botany. 62: 236-245.

Stutz, H.C.; Pope, L.; Sanderson, S.C. 1979. Evolutionary studies of Atriplex: adaptive products from the natural hybrid 6n A. tridentata x 4n A. canescens. American Journal of Botany. 66: 1181-1193.

Reports

Hreha, A.M.; Meyer, T. 1992. Utah Challenge Cost Share Project Summary. The Bureau of Land Management and Red Butte Garden and Arboretum.

Hreha, A.M.; Meyer, T. 1993. Utah Challenge Cost Share Project Summary: inventory and demographic study of Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt. var. gigantea Welsh & Stutz. The Bureau of Land Management and Red Butte Garden and Arboretum.

Sanderson, S.C.; Stutz, H.C. Chromosome Races of Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens), Chenopodiaceae. Provo, UT: United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Shrub Sciences Laboratory.

USDA. 2002. Plant Fact Sheets. United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Northeast Plant Materials Program. p.2.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010