Description

Winterfat is a shrubby perennial commonly called "white sage." It is not a true sage, but is closely related to the saltbushes and belongs to the goosefoot family. It is an erect half-shrub, from 1 to 3 feet tall.

Winterfat has a deep taproot, numerous extensive lateral roots, many erect herbaceous stems and a freely-branched, woody base. It is evergreen with alternate, densely-hairy, light green leaves. Leaves are linear to lanceolate, 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches long, the margins rolled. The whole plant is covered with dense, white hairs, turning rusty-colored sometime late in the year. Fruit is four-angled, beaked, with two, short horns covered with silky, white hairs.

Adaptation

Winterfat is very drought tolerant due to its leaf characteristics and its deep taproot with numerous, extensive lateral roots.

It grows in a wide variety of different soils, but expresses greater dominance on the silty- and fine-textured soils. It will grow on moderately-saline-alkali soils but not on those highly-saline-alkali. It is found, but is not a dominant plant, on sandy, gravelly and stony soils.

It grows primarily in the lower foothills, plains and valleys on dry, fine or medium soils with high lime.

Establishment

Seed directly on a well-prepared seedbed using three to four pounds of seed per acre. Seed on the surface or no deeper than 1/8 inch. Newly harvested seed should be used since the viability of the seed is almost zero after one year of storage. Seed should be dried and cleaned.

Management and Care

Livestock -- Use no more than 40 percent of the total annual growth during the early spring (plant growth period) or no more than 60 percent if grazed during the winter (plant dormant period). Responds well to proper grazing use and does especially well under a rotation deferred system of grazing.

Wildlife -- Not usually a problem of too heavy deer or antelope use since deer do not migrate in excessive numbers into sites where this plant occurs, and antelope are not in sufficient numbers in the state to be a problem.

Uses

Winterfat is valuable on winter ranges, thus the common name, there it furnishes abundant, palatable and nutritious forage for all classes of livestock and big game animals.

Livestock -- It is excellent to good feed for cattle and sheep, excellent to fair for goats and fair for horses. Livestock grazing this plant are said to "be remarkably free from disease because of the tonic properties of the plant." Crude protein values are 9.0 percent early in the season, 12 to 13 percent mid-season and 10.5 percent in late season. Winterfat is one of the most valuable plants for maintaining weights of adult animals on the winter ranges.

Wildlife -- Winterfat is a good to fair feed for deer. It is eaten readily by elk on the few sites where it occurs at high elevations. It is utilized extensively by rodents, rabbits and antelope.

Seed Production

Seed production at the Bridger, Montana, Plant Materials Center has been in excess of 300 pounds per acre. Research data indicate that the viability of the seed is almost zero after one year of storage. Seed ripens in October, and can be collected from then until early winter.