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| ## quailbush {#quailbush .Title-Header}                               |
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| *Atriplex lentiformis* (Torr.) S. Wats.                               |
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| Plant Symbol = ATLE                                                   |
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##### *Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

# Alternative Names

big saltbush

# Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The Native American Pima groups eat quailbush seeds.
They grounded the seeds into a meal and used them as a thickener in
soups or added them to flour for making bread. Most of this shrub is
edible, young shoots are suitable for greens. Several tribes used this
shrub for its salty taste. The crushed leaves and roots were used as
soap for washing clothes (Moerman 1998).

Native Americans tribes grounded the roots and flowers and applied it to
ant bites. The leaves were chewed to treat head colds. The crushed
flowers and stems can be steamed and inhaled to treat nasal congestion
(Moerman 1998).

*Wildlife*: Rabbits, lizards, rattlesnakes, coyotes, quails, and other
birds use the seeds and foliage for food and habitat. The foliage and
twigs provide shelter for many small mammals and livestock.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.8006944444444444in"
height="4.708333333333333in"}

# Status

# Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

# Description

*General*: Quailbush is a large, fast growing shrub. It occurs in river
floodplains, on roadsides, and in the borders of drainage. The branches
are widespread, slender, and flexible. The leaves are alternate,
triangular or ovate to oblong, and are 1 ½ to 2 inches long. The plants
are male or female and have the ability to alter their sex due to
environmental conditions.

*Distribution*: It ranges from the Upper San Joaquin and Salinas Valley
southward to lower California, in Lower and Upper Sonoran Life Zones
(McMinn 1939). It extends eastward into Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New
Mexico. For current distribution, please consult the Plant profile page
for this species on the PLANTS Web site

# Adaptation

Quailbush grows best with full sunlight in any well-drained but not too
fertile soil. It tolerates very alkaline soils and can succeed in hot
and dry climates. This species is not often found in colder areas of the
country but it can tolerate temperatures between -5 and -10º C.

# Establishment

*Propagation from Seed*: The seed is best sown in April or May and
placed in containers or seed trays containing a compost of peat and sand
to which a slow-release fertilizer has been added. Firm the medium
gently, sow the seed thinly and evenly on top, and cover with its own
depth of medium (Heuser 1997). Place the pots in a cold frame at 13º C
and the seed should germinate between one to three weeks. The seedlings
should be placed into individual pots and grown in a greenhouse for the
first winter.

# Management

*Atriplex lentiformis* will defoliate under extreme drought conditions.
They need to be under some form of water stress, salt stress, or drought
stress. The salt they accumulate in their leaves allows them to extract
water from the soil. They tolerate and remove the excess salts by
bladders in their leaves that act as salt sinks, keeping the salt from
the plant cells.

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

'**Casa**' - Released 1979 by the Lockeford Plant Materials Center, CA,
this cultivar has exhibited excellent performance as a conservation
plant on various critical areas, for upland game cover and for
environmental enhancement on deep, medium, or fine-textured soils that
are well to poorly drained. It can be grown on slightly acidic to
strongly alkaline soils (pH 6-8.5) and survive on an annual
precipitation of 20-25 cm (8-10 inches) when irrigated for initial
establishment. This species occurs from the upper San Joaquin and
Salinas valleys south to lower California. It extends eastward into
Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico.

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government". The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

# References

Collins, B.J. 2001*. Wildflowers of Southern California*. California
Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, California. Accessed: 11jan02.
\<http://ww1.clunet.edu/wf/index.htm\>

Heuser, C.W. 1997 *The complete book of plant propagation*. The Taunton
Press, Newtown, Connecticut.

Junah, S., T. Ayers, R. Scott, D. Wilken, & D. Young 1995. *A flora of
San Cruz Island*. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara,
California.

Kearney, T.H., R.H. Peebles, J.H. Howell, & E. McClintock 1960. *Arizona
flora*. 2^nd^ ed. University of Califonia Press, Berkeley, California.

McMinn, H.E. 1939. *An illustrated manual of California shrubs*.
University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, & London.

Moerman, D. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press, Oregon.

Mozingo, H.N. 1987. *Shrubs of the Great Basin: a natural history*.
University of Nevada Press, Reno, Las Vegas & London.

Thomas, J.H. 1961. *Flora of the San Cruz mountains of California: a
manual of the vascular plants*. Stanford University Press, Stanford,
California.

Van Dersal, W.R. 1939. *Native woody plants of the United States, their
erosion control & wildlife values*. United States Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Vines, R.A. 1960. *Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the southwest*.
University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.

# Prepared By

#### *Jammie Favorite*

Formerly, USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

# Baton Rouge, Louisiana

# Species Coordinator

*Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 09jan02 jsp; 25feb03 ahv; 14Mar05 rln; 31may06jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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