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Winterfat
Krascheninnikovia lanata
  
3 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant Krascheninnikovia lanata is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name winter fat. It is native to much of western North America from central Canada to northern Mexico, where it grows in a number of habitats. This is a small shrub sending erect stem branches to heights between one half and one meter. It produces flat lance-shaped leaves up to 3 centimeters long. The stems and foliage are covered in woolly white hairs which age to a reddish color. The tops of the stem branches are occupied by plentiful spike flower clusters. The shrub is generally monoecious, with each upright flower cluster holding mostly staminate flowers with a few pistillate flowers clustered near the bottom. The staminate flowers have large, woolly leaflike leafs. The pistillate flowers have smaller leafs and develop tiny white fruits. The silky hairs on the fruits allow for wind dispersal. This species is an important winter forage for grazing domestic and wild animals. It thrives in salty soils such as those on alkali flats. The plants are very long-lived. They are sometimes cultivated.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
1 - 3.3 ft tall

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow, White, Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 3

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Slow, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Adaptable, tolerant of sand, loam and clay

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2*, 3*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11*, 12*, 13, 14*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rocky clay soils, flats, gentle slopes

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.5" - 36.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.80", Coldest Month: 24.2" - 56.3", Hottest Month: 52.7" - 82.1", Humidity: 1.38" - 35.61", Elevation: 528" - 8755"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Winter Fat


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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