Mat Saltbush

Mat Saltbush is a sub-shrub native to Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah that, as its name suggests, grows as a mat about 6 inches tall by 5 to 6 feet wide.  It frequently hybridizes with Gardner Saltbush.   Its preferred habitat is fine-textured, alkaline or saline soils at elevations between 4,000 and 7,000 feet.  Of all the saltbush species, Mat Saltbush is the most tolerant of alkalinity and salinity. It is found mainly on Mancos shale formations, where it provides important browse and is often the only woody or even perennial vegetation in this highly saline environment.  In less saline habitats, stands of mat saltbush may alternate with stands of winterfat, shadscale, and other brush species.

Mat saltbush provides important forage for big game, especially in winter since it is often growing on rocky, windy slopes where it is exposed when other forage may be snow covered.    It can be a valuable component of reclamation mixes, and is often seeded with Russian wildrye, tall wheatgrass, and crested wheatgrass.  Seed should be planted about 1/2 inch deep in fall or midwinter because the seed must be exposed to cold temperatures to break dormancy.