1.
Allenrolfea occidentalis
(S. Watson) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 546. 1891.
Halostachys occidentalis
S. Watson, Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 293. 1871
Plants
3-15 dm, ± glaucous.
Stems
woody proximally, fleshy distally; articulations (joints) (2-)3-5(-10) × 1-4.5 mm.
Leaves
deciduous; blade 2-4 × 2-3 mm.
Inflorescences
6-25 × 2.5-4 mm.
Utricles
enclosed by perianth.
Seeds
ca. 0.6 mm.
Flowering mid summer-late fall. Alkaline soils, mostly on raised sandy hummocks in salt playas and mud flats; 1000-1700 m; Ariz., Calif., Idaho, N.Mex., Nev., Oreg., Tex., Utah; Mexico.
A dominant shrub of salt playas and mudflats in the American Southwest, iodine bush is easily distinguished from great distances by the dark hue of its stems. The blackish-colored shrubs stand in stark contrast to surrounding vegetation and on close examination can be easily distinguished from the opposite-branched, but vegetatively similar members of
Sarcocornia
.
