winterfat
nounEtymology From winter + fat, so called because it provides range food for grazing livestock in the winter when very little grows.
1
Usually Any of the shrubs of genus Krascheninnikovia in the goosefoot family, especially Krascheninnikovia lanata.
- Winterfat, as the name implies, is chiefly valuable on winter ranges, where it often furnishes an abundance of palatable and nutritious forage highly fattening to sheep and cattle.1937, Range Plant Handbook:
- Winterfat was found growing luxuriantly on soil where the salt content of the fourth foot reached 1 percent.1939, Paul Random Henson, Harvey Leroy Westover, Alfalfa Experiments at Stoneville, Miss., 1935-37, page 25:
2 more examples
- Storage in sealed containers either at subzero temperatures (-4° to -10° F.) or under refrigeration (34° to 42° F.) is recommended for maximum retention of viability of winterfat seeds.1973, H. W. Springfield, Winterfat fruits and seeds retain high viability 3 years in cold storage:
- Long ago, J.G. Smith, in his publication on fodder and forage plants for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, thought that livestock fed on winterfat were "remarkably free from disease becaus of the tonic properties of the plant." Winterfat is a good source of protein and vitamin A.1987, Hugh Nelson Mozingo, Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History, →ISBN, page 72: