Atriplex lentiformis (quailbush, big salt bush) ( )

Quailbush is a large shrub that reaches as much as 8-10 feet in height, but with a sprawling growth form that makes it generally much wider than tall. Rather than being exclusively a desert species, quailbush is common in coastal areas of southern California as well. While it is found in alkalines and saline washes and in mixed salt scrub communities around playas, it is widely distributed around the margins of both coastal and desert wetlands. Although it may occasionally occur in sheltered areas at elevations up to 4.500 feet, it is more typical of the lower desert areas below 2,000 feet. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Runder, Robert J Gustafson, Michael E Kauffmann."