Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook.) Torr.

by Beth Hickey, Native Plants of Arizona 2005
Common names: Greasewood (1, 6), black greasewood (2, 10), chicobush (2, 5), chico (2, 5)
Family: Chenopodiaceae (2)
Synonymy: Sarcobatus baileyi Coville, Sarcobatus vemiculatus (Hook.) Torr. Var. baileyi (Coville) Jepson (1)
Etymology: Sarcobatus  comes from the Greek words sarkos, meaning flesh, and batos meaning thorny (6, 10); vermiculatus means worm-like and refers to the spiral seed embryos (5, 10)   

Identification
Growth form: rapidly growing monoecious shrub
Stems: spreading, rigid branches, 2-4 m tall (1, 2, 4, 6), older branches gray and sturdy (10), bark white to tan (2, 5), thorns appear in early summer beneath new foliage (6)
Leaves: alternate, sessile, linear, fleshy, gray-green (2), narrow, 3 cm long and 0.4 cm wide, entire (4), glabrous or pubescent (10), salty tasting (2, 5)
Inflorescence/flowers: inconspicuous, oval (6) female flowers are solitary or grow in small clusters (4, 6, ) in axials of leaves towards the top of the plant (2, 6) and are followed by a wing-like disk (2, 4, 5); male flowers grow in catkin-like spikes formed at the end of the branches (2, 5, 6) and are without perianth, each is subtended by a peltate, stipitate bractlet (4)
Fruit:  one seeded achene, 4-5 mm long and 1 cm wide including wing which is green to tan and sometimes slightly red (2, 3, 4, 5), seeds are brown (10)
Similar species: There is only one species of Sarcobatus in Arizona. However, some (including the O’odham and many ranchers) use the common name of greasewood to refer to Larrea tridentata (2, 7). Sarcobatus vermicultus is the only true greasewood (2).  May be confused with Suaeda moquinii. However, S. moquinii has brown to gray-brown stems, 1-2 mm linear to narrowly lanceolate leaves that are glabrous or slightly hirtellous.  S. moquinii also has 1-12 flowered glomes on distal stems with 0.5-2mm black or brown seeds (11).     

Ecology
Life history: perennial shrub (3)
Native/Introduced: Native to the western United States (1)
Photosynthetic pathway: C3 (12)
Phenology: flowers from June to September (2, 4)
Distribution: Across North America from North Dakota to Alberta, south into west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, west into California (4, 5); within Arizona S. vermiculatus is most common in the northeastern part of the state, though it is found in Apache, Navajo, Coconino, Pinal, and Maricopa counties (4); 1,000-6,000 ft. (2, 4) and possibly up to 8,500 ft. (5) on flat, alkaline, moist soils (2, 4, 5, 6)

Uses:  Browsed by cattle and sheep in the winter and spring months, however overindulgence results in bloating and sometimes poisoning due to oxalates in the sap (2, 4).  Pronghorn, prairie dogs, and quail use the plant as a minor source of food, while the jackrabbit makes extensive use of the species (2, 5).  Ethnobotanical uses are many and varied.  The wood has been used since prehistoric times as construction material and is the main wood used in Hopi kiva fires because it burns with bright, sparkling flame (6, 8). Known as a hard, straight wood the Hopi use it for arrowshafts, rabbit sticks (similar in shape to the Australian boomerang), planting sticks, musical rasps, and combs (8).  The Navajo use the wood in fires, for knitting needles, dice, war bows, and various ceremonial sticks.  The plant is also sometimes chewed and used to topically treat insect bites (9).

References:

1. USDA, NRCS. 2005. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 ( http://plants.usda.gov). Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

2. Epple, A. O. 1995.  A Field Guide to the Plants of Arizona. Falcon Publishing.  Helena, Montana.

3. Retrieved [November 22, 2005], from the USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System on-line database, http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/sarver/all.html

4. Kearney, T. H., R.H. Peebles, and collaborators.  1960.  Arizona Flora 2^nd Edition.  University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.

5. Elmore, F. H.  1976.  Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands.  Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, Globe, Arizona.

6. Dunmire, W. H., G. D. Tierney.  1997.  Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners.  Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.

7. Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.  2000.  A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert.  Arizona- Sonoran Desert Museum Press, Tucson.  University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.

8. Whiting,  A. F.  1939.  Ethnobotany of the Hopi.  Museum of Northern Arizona, Bulletin no. 15.  Northern Arizona Society of Science and Art, Flagstaff.

9. Elmore, F. H.  1943.  Ethnobotany of the Navajo.  The University of New Mexico Bulletin, Vol. 1, no. 7.  The University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

10. Hogan, P., K. Huisinga, K. Kampe.  2005.  An Annontated Catalog of the Native and Naturalized Flora of Arizona.  Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association, Flagstaff.

11.  Retrieved [December 9, 2005], from the Flora of North America on-line database, www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242415441

12.  Retrieved [December 9, 2005], from the Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research Project on-line database, http://sevilleta.unm.edu/data/species/plant/checklist/