Pickleweed (Allenrofea occidentalis)

   

Pickleweed, Chihuahuan Desert Gardens. Photograph by Wynn Anderson.

• Common English Names: Pickleweed, Iodine Bush
• Common Spanish Names: None known
• Scientific Name: Allenrolfea occidentalis (Wats.) O. Ktze (al-in-ROLL-fee-ah ox-ee-den-TAL-iss)
• Family: Chenopodaceae (Chenopod Family)
• Geographic Range: Oregon to New Mexico and western Texas; Baja California across to Chihuahua and Coahuila, south to Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
• Plant Form: Part woody, part succulent, erect shrub or half-shrub to 2 to 6' tall
• Landscape Use: None
• Remarks: Curious plant with swollen, succulent, distinctly articulated, branching upper stems displaying only tiny scale-like leaves. Found in saline and gypseous soils on alkaline flats and margins of saline playas and streams. Sap has an iodine-like character.

Last Update: 18 Aug 2013