Peattie, Donald Culross A Natural History of Western Trees. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1950. Utah Juniper. Atriplex canescens is a salt tolerant plant found below 8,500 feet in dry sandy areas. It has small gray-green, densely branched stems. It grows between 1 and 2 meters tall. Leaves are numerous, alternate, evergreen, and lance shaped with entire margins. Leaf surfaces are gray and hairy above and below. New growth is covered with scarf, minute white scales that protect against drying. Male and female plants are separate. The female produces tiny yellow flowers that yield a large number of conspicuous four winged seeds that are light green and papery, drying to nearly white. Native Americans used these seeds to make mush and flour. Leaves were eaten like spinach. Ashes served as a substitute for baking powder. Roots were used a soap. Two Ephedra species are found in the park. They are erect and shrubby plants with green jointed smooth twigs that branch into three. Terminal buds are conical and tiny. Male and female plants are separate. Yellowish 'flowers' are solitary or in whorls in the axils of the stems. The fruit is small and cone-like, which reflects the distant relationship to conifers. Ephedrine, an antidepressant and anticongestive drug is produced from some Asiatic species of Ephedra. Both Native Americans and Mormons made a tea from the dried stems. The seed are also edible.
1 and 2 meters tall. 1 and 2 meters
1 and 2 meters tall. 1 and 2 meters