Desert Holly
Atriplex hymenelytra
Color: Grey-greenish
Common name: Desert Holly
Latin name: Atriplex hymenelytra
Family: CHENOPODIACEAE
Height: 1.5-3 feet
Description: It is generally a rounded bush covered in distinctive reflective leaves growing from thickened, gnarly, woody bases. The fruits are enclosed in disc-shaped bracteoles — a bract that protects the early floral bud — after flowering.
Leaf: The leaves are egg-shaped to round, silver-gray, twisted, thick, irregularly and sharply toothed.
Range: se Peninsular Ranges, East of Sierra Nevada, Desert
Habitat: Slopes, washes, scrub
Elevation: < 1500 m.
Flowering time: Jan–Apr
Notes: Atriplex hymenelytra is a species of saltbush known by the common name desert holly. The toothed leaves and the small reddish fruits borne on the plant give it a passing resemblance to the unrelated European holly. This attractive shrub's leaves are often used in decorations for the home.
Sources:
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/index.html
Fowler, Catherine S. Tule Technology: Northern Paiute Uses of Marsh Resources in Western Nevada. Smithsonian Folklife Studies, number 6.
The Theodore Payne Foundation: www.theodorepayne.org
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
Share this page on Facebook:
DesertUSA Newsletter -- We send articles on hiking, camping and places to explore, as well as animals, wildflower reports, plant information and much more. Sign up below or read more about the DesertUSA newsletter here. (It's Free.)
The Desert Environment
The North American Deserts
Desert Geological Terms
SEARCH THIS SITE
Past Wildflower Season Videos
click on links below
2009 Wildflower Video
2006 Wildflower Season -
Click here to play.
2005 Wildflower Season -
Click here to play.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers Book
200 color photos
Wildflower Field Guide - find flowers by color
Are you interested in the temperatures in the
desert?Click here to see current desert temperatures!
DesertUSA is a comprehensive resource about the North American deserts and Southwest destinations. Learn about desert biomes while you discover how desert plants and animals learn to adapt to the harsh desert environment. Find travel information about national parks, state parks, BLM land, and Southwest cities and towns located in or near the desert regions of the United States. Access maps and information about the Sonoran Desert, Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert, and Chihuahuan Desert.
Home | About | Contact Us | Feedback | Privacy | Site Outline | Advertising on DesertUSA | Aquis Towels | Hotels | Polo Club News