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Winterfat
Common
Name(s):
Winterfat
White Sage
Scientific
Name:
Krascheninnikovia
lanata (Pursh.) A.D.J. Meeuse & Smit
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
Ceratoides lanata (Pursh.)
J.T. Howell
Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Moq.
Symbol:
KRLA2
Description:
Life Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Cool
Growth Characteristics:
Winterfat
is a low-growing, long-lived (up to 130 yrs old) subshrub with a
woody base and numerous annual branchlets, growing 1 to 3 feet tall.
Herbage is hairy giving the plant a silvery white appearance. It
flowers April to September and reproduces from seed and sprouting.
Sprouting of the buds near the plants base occurs when the plant
is browsed or damaged.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
The
flowers are inconspicuous with no petals and clustered in the leaf
axils. They are wooly and white, with a green stripe. Male flowers
are found in the axils of spikes, in clusters at the end of the
branches. Female flowers are in a pair of silky bracts.
Fruits/Seeds:
The fruit, growing to 0.2-inch long, is 4-angled, beaked, with 2
short horns covered with silky white hairs.
Leaves: Alternate
or in fascicles (like pine needles). The blades are linear to narrow
lance shaped. Margins are entire and rolled under. The surface is
covered with dense red or white hairs and has a prominent midrib.
This prominent midvein as well as the rolled edges, give the leaf
the appearance of having three ridges on the underside. The leaves
remain on the plant during winter and are shed when new leaves grow
in the spring or when the plant is water stressed.
Stems: Twigs
are gray to reddish-brown, stout, ascending, and covered with dense
hairs. Trunk bark is gray-brown.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Winterfat
occurs in dry valley bottoms, on flat mesas, and on hillsides, at
elevations between 2,400 and 9,300 feet. It is drought resistant
and intolerant of flooding, excess water, or acidic soils.
Seed production, especially in desert regions, is dependent on precipitation.
Good seed years occur when there is appreciable summer precipitation
and little browsing.
Soils: Winterfat
occurs on well-drained, calcareous soils with low to moderate salt
concentrations.
Associated Species:
Needle-and-thread,
western wheatgrass, shadscale.
Uses and
Management:
Winterfat
is good forage for sheep, pronghorn, elk, mule deer, and many small
mammals and birds. It is fair forage for cattle. It is most valued
as winter forage. It will decrease under heavy, continuous grazing.
Grazing season can have more influence on winterfat than grazing
intensity. Late winter or early spring grazing is most detrimental
to winterfat. It can tolerate winter use of 50% if it is rested
occasionally. Spring and summer use should not exceed 35%. Early
winter grazing may actually be beneficial.
Blackfoot Indians soaked the leaves in warm water to make a hair
wash. Other Indians used a decoction from the leaves to treat fevers.
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