Low, intricately branched, often spiny shrubs, 0.3-0.6m tall, usually well spaced with bare ground between dominant Atriplex confertifolia and Artemisia spinescens. Growth, flowering, and dormancy sequence similar to Blackbush Scrub (34300), but usually a little earlier because of slightly higher temperatures and/or greater aridity.
SITE FACTORS:
Often on poorly drained flats with heavy, somewhat alkaline soil, adjacent to Desert Chenopod Scrub (36100). Also at well-drained slopes at higher elevations, intergrading at its upper limits with Blackbush Scrub (34300), Great Basin Sagebrush Scrub (35200) or Joshua Tree Woodland (73000). May occur above Creosote Bush Scrub (34100) on well-drained slopes or below it in poorly-drained basins with cold air accumulation.
DISTRIBUTION:
From the Owens Valley region (Inyo County) to the Mojave Desert (Kern and San Bernardino counties), and north and eastward across southern Nevada. Typically between 3000 and 6000 feet (910 and 1800m).
UPDATE: 10/86
Source: Holland, 1986
Digital Text: NatureBase