SimplePlant

Sarcobataceae

Greasewood

Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook.) Torr.

Family
Sarcobataceae
Genus
Sarcobatus

Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants

Greasewood: Sarcobatus vermiculatus is common in a variety of settings but mostly involving alkaline or clayey soils. Regardless, this shrub sometimes occurs in the sagebru
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (2)
English
Greasewood
Finnish
Preeriarasvakki

Synonyms

  • Batis vermiculata Hook.
  • Fremontia vermiculata (Hook.) Torr.
  • Sarcobatus maximilianii Nees
  • Sarcobatus vermiculatus var. procumbens S.C.Sand. & G.L.Chu
  • Sarcobatus vermiculatus var. vermiculatus

Flowers

Flower colour
green (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Shrub
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Toxicity: Moderate, as listed by the USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29). USDA rates how toxic a plant is to people or livestock; it is not a pet-safety rating, so ask a vet or poison line if a pet or child ate it.

Photos

More in Sarcobatus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.