biology

Sarcobatus

Sarcobatus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sarcobatus rather than just read about it. In short: Sarcobatus is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for S. vermiculatus include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush.

Key takeaways

Sarcobatus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sarcobatus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sarcobatus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sarcobatus is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for S. vermiculatus include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush. Traditionally, Sarcobatus has been treated in the family Chenopodiaceae, but the APG III system of 2009 recognizes it as the sole genus in the family Sarcobataceae.

Name In Greek, sarco means 'fleshy' (probably in reference to the fleshy leaves) and batus means 'bramble' (referring to the spiny branches).

Description

The Sarcobatus plants are deciduous shrubs growing to 0.5–3 metres tall with spiny branches and green succulent leaves, 10–40 mm long and 1–2 mm broad. The leaves are green, in contrast to the grey-green color of most of the other shrubs within its range. The flowers are unisexual, with the male and female flowers on the same plant and appear from June to August. The species reproduces from seeds and sprouts. S. vermiculatus was described from specimens collected in 1806 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition's westward exploration of North America.

Habitat The Sarcobatus area of distribution is western North America, from southeastern British Columbia and southwest Alberta, Canada south through the drier regions of the United States (east to North Dakota and west Texas, west to central Washington and eastern California) to northern Mexico (Coahuila). Both Sarcobatus species are halophytes, usually found in sunny, flat areas around the margins of playas and in dry stream beds and arroyos. While it tolerates salty soil (storing absorbed salt in the roots and leaves), in the southwestern part of its range it is replaced by iodine bush in extremely saline environments, such as hummocks within the playa itself. Greasewood often grows in alkaline flats (being a reliable indicator of alkaline soil) and in extensive, nearly pure stands in pluvial desert locations, being most common on fine-grained soils in areas with a relatively high water table.

Uses Although it can be grazed by animals that are adapted, grazing of greasewood by sheep and cattle can result in oxalate poisoning resulting in kidney failure. The active agent can be either sodium oxalate or potassium oxalate. Sheep are the most vulnerable. The wood is yellow, very hard and tough. Because it is so hard, it was used as a shaft for arrows. It was also used as firewood by Native Americans and early settlers. They are used traditionally by Navajo as stirring sticks, Ádístsíín.

Taxonomy These plants were formerly treated in the family Chenopodiaceae. The family name Sarcobataceae was published in 1997, and is not recognized by the Flora of North America, which however lists it as a "discordant lineage" within the larger group of Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (including the APG III system of 2009), does recognize this family. The family comprises the single genus, Sarcobatus, and is placed in the order Caryophyllales in the clade core eudicots. It was suggested that the plastids and the wood anatomy may show an affinity to Phytolaccaceae and Nyctaginaceae rather than to Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae. The sister taxon of Sarcobatus might be Agdestis.

Species The two species are:

Sarcobatus baileyi Coville is a Nevada endemic. It is a low shrub to 1 m tall. Leaves hairy, 10–16 mm long. Sometimes considered to be a variety of S. vermiculatus, S. vermiculatus var. baileyi (Coville) Jepson. See the Flora of North America for further discussion (which retains the two species as distinct). Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook.) Torr. Throughout the range of the genus. Plants are generally 1–2 metres high, although some up to 5 metres high have been recorded. Leaves hairless or only slightly hairy, 15–40 mm long. Synonyms include: Batis vermiculata Hooker Fremontia vermiculata (Hooker) Torrey Sarcobatus maximilianii Nees

References

External links

Jepson Flora: Sarcobatus vermiculatus Extensive description with images explorenm.com, Explore New Mexico Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System, Notes on poisoning: Sarcobatus vermiculatus Oregon State University, Malheur Agricultural Experiment Station Sarcobataceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 30 May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com NCBI Taxonomy Browser

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sarcobatus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sarcobatus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sarcobatus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sarcobatus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sarcobatus

In research: Sarcobatus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sarcobatus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sarcobatus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Caryophyllales, Caryophyllales genera, Flora of Northwestern Mexico, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sarcobatus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sarcobatus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sarcobatus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sarcobatus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sarcobatus in simple terms?

Sarcobatus is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for S. vermiculatus include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush.

Why does Sarcobatus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sarcobatus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sarcobatus.