Kingdom Plantae Subfamily Salicornioideae Scientific name Allenrolfea occidentalis Rank Species | Family Amaranthaceae Genus Allenrolfea Higher classification Allenrolfea Order Caryophyllales | |
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Similar Suaeda nigra, Atriplex polycarpa, Sarcobatus, Atriplex lentiformis, Atriplex confertifolia | ||
Allenrolfea occidentalis, the iodine bush, is a low-lying shrub of the Southwestern United States, California, Idaho, and northern Mexico.
It grows in sandy, often salty, distinctly alkaline soils, such as desert washes and saline dry lakebeds. It is a common halophyte member of the alkali flat ecosystem.
Description
The knobby green stems are fleshy and appear jointed at the internodes between segments. Often the segments are so short they are nearly round. The leaves appear as flaky scales scattered across the surface of the stems. The genus was named for the English botanist Robert Allen Rolfe.
The seeds of iodinebush have been used as food in North America in prehistory.
References
Allenrolfea occidentalis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA