saltbush

[ sawlt-boo sh ]

/ ˈsɔltˌbʊʃ /

noun

any of various plants or shrubs of the genus Atriplex, having mostly alternate leaves and clusters of inconspicuous flowers, often growing in saline or alkaline soil.

Nearby words

saltatory, saltatory conduction, saltatory evolution, saltatory spasm, saltbox, saltbush, saltcellar, saltchuck, saltchucker, salteaux, salted

Origin of saltbush

1860–65; salt¹ + bush¹, so called because they thrive in saline or alkaline soils

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for saltbush

Our path in the afternoon lay near the river over low ground, wooded with box, having an undergrowth of saltbush and polygonum.
Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria|William Landsborough
Ives followed, though he could see nothing but sand and saltbush in the direction indicated.
The Shadow of a Man|E. W. Hornung
About these scrubs the grass is very good and there is a luxuriant undergrowth of saltbush and salt herbs.
Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria|William Landsborough
The vegetation in this neighbourhood seems nearly dead, excepting the saltbush.
Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria|William Landsborough

The valley floor and valley terraces are dotted with saltbush, rabbitbrush, greasewood, and sagebrush.
Aztec Ruins National Monument--New Mexico|John M. Corbett

British Dictionary definitions for saltbush

saltbush

/ (ˈsɔːltˌbʊʃ) /

noun

any of various chenopodiaceous shrubs of the genus Atriplex that grow in alkaline desert regions

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012