Allenrolfea occidentalis, the iodine bush, is a low-lying shrub of the Southwestern United States, California, Idaho, and northern Mexico. It grows in sandy, often salty, distinctly alkaline soils, such as desert washes and saline dry lakebeds. It is a common halophyte member of the alkali flat ecosystem. Description The knobby green stems are fleshy and appear jointed at the internodes between segments. Often the segments are so short they are nearly round. The leaves appear as flaky scales scattered across the surface of the stems. The genus was named for the English botanist Robert Allen Rolfe. The seeds of iodinebush have been used as food in North America in prehistory. References Further reading Gul, B., D. J. Weber, and M. A. Khan. (2001). Growth, ionic and osmotic relations of an Allenrolfea occidentalis population in an inland salt playa of the Great Basin Desert. Journal of Arid Environments 48(4) 445–60. External links Jepson Manual Treatment USDA Plants Profile Photo gallery Amaranthaceae Halophytes Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of Idaho Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Flora of the Great Basin Plants described in 1871 Taxa named by Sereno Watson Flora without expected TNC conservation status