The New International Encyclopædia/Greasewood

GREASEWOOD (Sarcobatus Maximiliana). A plant which grows profusely in the Western United States, especially on barren and alkaline soils, from the upper Missouri River region to Mexico and west to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It reaches a height of from 4 to 8 feet. Cattle and sheep eat its leaves and browse off the smaller stems. The plant roots deeply, and brings to the surface considerable quantities of alkali. (See Alkali Soils.) The name is sometimes applied in the West to species of Gutierrezia—plants which belong to the order Compositæ.