Desert Moon Botanicals

It never stops amazing me — seeing plants here in Australia that feel so familiar to those back home in Arizona.

Old Man Saltbush (Atriplex nummularia) grows across the dry plains and coastal areas here, with its silver-grey leaves and tough spirit. Aboriginal peoples have long used it for food and medicine, taking advantage of its mineral-rich leaves.

Back in Arizona’s desert riparian areas, we have a close cousin — Quailbush (Atriplex lentiformis). It thrives in salty desert soils too. Indigenous communities there used it for food, and even for natural soaps and cleansers.

We actually saw and tasted it during our plant walk at the Riparian Preserve in March!

Even on the other side of the planet, these plants remind us how nature always finds a way — offering nourishment, medicine, and resilience where it’s needed most.