winterfat

English

Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata)

Etymology

winter +‎ fat, so called because it provides range food for grazing livestock in the winter when very little grows.

Noun

winterfat (usually uncountable, plural winterfats)

1. Any of the shrubs of genus Krascheninnikovia in the goosefoot family, especially Krascheninnikovia lanata.
   • 1937, Range Plant Handbook:

     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.

   • 1939, Paul Random Henson, Harvey Leroy Westover, Alfalfa Experiments at Stoneville, Miss., 1935-37, page 25:

     Winterfat was found growing luxuriantly on soil where the salt content of the fourth foot reached 1 percent.

   • 1973, H. W. Springfield, Winterfat fruits and seeds retain high viability 3 years in cold storage:

     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.

   • 1987, Hugh Nelson Mozingo, Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History, →ISBN, page 72:

     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.