Krascheninnikovia lanata (Winter fat)

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Krascheninnikovia lanata (Pursh) A. Meeuse & Smit

Winter fat, white sage, winter-sage, feather-sage, sweet sage, lambstail

Winterfat is native to much of western North America. Its high protein content makes it superior browse for cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as wildlife.

Plants: Small shrubs 1½–3′ (50–100 cm) are erect or spreading.

Leaves: Simple, alternate, mostly linear, and up to 1″ (3 cm) long. Leaf margins are rolled back. Both stems and foliage are covered in woolly white hairs that make them appear gray, becoming reddish with age.

Flowers: Multiple flowerheads (inflorescences) appear from March to June. Each flowerhead is comprised mostly of male (staminate) flowers, with a few female (pistillate) flowers below. The staminate flowers have large, woolly, leaflike bracts. Flowers are inconspicuous.

Fruits: Tiny white teardrop-shaped fruits develop from the pistillate flowers. They are covered with fine silky hairs up to ½″ (1.3 cm) long.

Habitats: Grassland plains and xeric scrublands, at elevations up to 1.9 mi (3 km). It is salt-tolerant, and at home in the Great Basin, Central Valley, Great Plains, and Mojave Deserts.

Online References:

Wikipedia

Ceratoides lanata (Pursh) J.T. Howell
Ceratoides lanata (Pursh) J.T. Howell var. ruinina S.L. Welsh
Ceratoides lanata (Pursh) J.T. Howell var. subspinosa (Rydb.) J.T. Howell
Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Moq.
Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Moq. var. subspinosa (Rydb.) Kearney & Peebles

8/30/2014 · New Mexico · ≈ 8 × 12″ (21 × 31 cm)

4/29/2018 · Red Spring Calico Basin, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada · ≈ 10 × 15″ (26 × 39 cm)

8/29/2014 · Rio Grande Bridge, New Mexico · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 28 cm)

4/29/2018 · Red Spring Calico Basin, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)

4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

8/30/2014 · New Mexico · ≈ 8 × 12″ (21 × 31 cm)

8/28/2014 · High Road to Taos, New Mexico · By Susan M. Kent · ≈ 4 × 3′ (120 × 94 cm)

8/29/2014 · Rio Grande Bridge, New Mexico · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 28 cm)

4/30/2018 · Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve, California · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

4/29/2018 · Red Spring Calico Basin, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Amaranthaceae	Amaranth family
Genus	Krascheninnikovia	After Stepan Petrovich Krascheninnikov (1713-1755), a Russian botanist and Professor of Natural History who accompanied the Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering on his Great Northern Expedition (1733-1743), Bering’s second expedition to explore Siberia, and one of the largest scientific ventures the world has ever known.
Species	lanata	Covered with long, woolly hair

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Range:

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Krascheninnikovia lanata description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.