One of the common names for this plant is saltlover (Halogeton glomeratus); its genus name Halogeton is Greek for salt neighbor, and is often used as the common name. It's nonnative, found in salty soils, and is considered in many areas to be a noxious weed. It grows throughout much of the western U.S. It concentrates sodium oxalate and is poisonous to livestock.
The stems are often red, and the flowers are small and inconspicuous.
You might not recognize this plant by its USDA Plants Database name: burningbush (Bassia scoparia formerly Kochia scoparia), but you might know it by its other common names, kochia, ragweed, summer cypress, fireball, and Mexican fireweed. It's native to Eurasia but is now widespread. Although many consider it a weed, it does have some forage, food, ornamental, and erosion control properties.
For more info on burningbush, click here.
This highly desert-adapted plant is unfortunately not native, although many other species in its family are. This is halogeton or salt lover (Halogeton glomeratus), in the Goosefoot Family. It grows in disturbed areas, such as along sides of roads. It's a summer annual that can grow up to a foot high and has small white flowers later in the summer. It can poison livestock if they eat too much of it.
There's a bush lighting up the landscape right now with its almost yellow clustered flowers. This is a member of the Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae), a very important component of the lower elevations of the Great Basin desert. This particular bush is called spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa), although some folks prefer to call it applebush and I know one cowboy who calls it sugar greasewood.
You can see how the lighter color contrasts with the grayer sagebrush and the greener greasewood and green rabbitbrush.
A closeup of the blossoms shows their very wrinkled appearance. As they age they turn pinker, as seen below.
Male flowers are borne on separate plants, with small flowerheads growing at the axils of the leaves.
Above you can see a female hopsage on the left and a male on the right.
Here's a closeup of female flowers on the left and male flowers on the right.
