✽
Field guide
Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata)
Chris Woodrich · CC BY-SA 4.0

also White sage

Winterfat

Krascheninnikovia lanata

Family:
Amaranthaceae
Elevation:
4,000 ft – 8,000 ft
Region:
Southwest

A soft, low, silvery-white shrub whose woolly, star-haired foliage and fluffy seed tufts glow almost luminous in late-season light, blanketing flats and mesas in silver. Its dense winter seed heads give it both its name and its value as cold-season forage.

Care · tuned to the Southwest

Water

Highly drought tolerant once established; minimal supplemental water needed and overwatering rots the crown. Adapted to arid flats, it responds to seasonal moisture but tolerates long dry spells with ease.

Sun & exposure

Full, open sun; a plant of exposed flats and slopes with no tolerance for shade.

Soil

Prefers well-drained, often alkaline, saline, sandy or gravelly soils; well suited to caliche and poor high-desert ground.

In the Southwest

Very cold-hardy across the high desert and shrub-steppe. Wind-pollinated with inconspicuous flowers, so no showy bloom; the ornamental feature is the fuzzy silver seed clusters that persist into winter. One of the most nutritious native browse plants for cattle, sheep, deer, and pronghorn in winter, hence 'winterfat.' Keep it lean and dry.

Common problems & fixes

  • Rots with irrigation — dies quickly in watered, rich, or poorly drained soil

    Fix — Grow in very lean, sharply drained soil with no supplemental summer water once established.

  • Short-lived and reseeds — individual plants fade after a few years

    Fix — Let the fuzzy seed self-sow and thin volunteers to keep a stand renewing itself.

Pets & toxicity

Considered a safe and valuable forage plant; no meaningful toxicity to livestock or pets under normal use. Prized winter browse rather than a poisonous plant.

Easy to confuse with

  • Fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) — similar gray habit but with four-winged papery fruits
  • White sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana) — aromatic and herbaceous, not woolly-seeded

Sources

Think you're looking at one?

Snap a photo and we'll rank the candidates against the local flora — honestly, and for free.

Identify a plant