Burke: Atriplex argentea vs. Atriplex heterosperma

	Atriplex argentea	Atriplex heterosperma
	silver orache, silverscale orache	orach, Russian atriplex orach
Habit		Monoecious, weedy annuals, the stem erect, branching from the base, 5-15 dm. tall.
Leaves		Leaves alternate except the lower cauline; petioles 2-3 cm. long; leaf blades triangular to lance-triangular, green on both sides, 30-120 mm. long and 12-90 mm. wide, usually hastate, the margins entire or irregularly dentate.
Flowers		Flowers in terminal or axillary panicles 6-25 cm. tall; staminate flowers with 5 sepals, 5 petals and 5 stamens; pistillate flowers dimorphic, lacking a perianth, the pistil naked, enclosed with a pair of leafy bracteoles; stigmas 2.
Fruits		Fruiting bracteoles ovate, of 2 sizes; larger ones 5-6 x 5 mm., smaller ones 2 x 2 mm. Seeds of larger bracteoles yellowish brown, of smaller bracteoles, black.

	Atriplex argentea	Atriplex heterosperma
Flowering time	July-September	June-August
Habitat	Dry or alkaline soil.	Riparian zones and adjacent fields; tolerant of alkaline.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains; also in eastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map]
Origin	Native	Introduced from Eurasia
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	A. canescens, A. dioica, A. gardneri, A. gmelinii, A. heterosperma, A. hortensis, A. littoralis, A. longipes, A. oblongifolia, A. patula, A. prostrata, A. rosea, A. semibaccata, A. truncata	A. argentea, A. canescens, A. dioica, A. gardneri, A. gmelinii, A. hortensis, A. littoralis, A. longipes, A. oblongifolia, A. patula, A. prostrata, A. rosea, A. semibaccata, A. truncata
Subordinate taxa	A. argentea var. argentea
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Atriplex heterosperma

silver orache, silverscale orache

orach, Russian atriplex orach

Habit

Monoecious, weedy annuals, the stem erect, branching from the base, 5-15 dm. tall.

Leaves

Leaves alternate except the lower cauline;

petioles 2-3 cm. long; leaf blades triangular to lance-triangular, green on both sides, 30-120 mm. long and 12-90 mm. wide, usually hastate, the margins entire or irregularly dentate.

Flowers

Flowers in terminal or axillary panicles 6-25 cm. tall; staminate flowers with 5 sepals, 5 petals and 5 stamens; pistillate flowers dimorphic, lacking a perianth, the pistil naked, enclosed with a pair of leafy bracteoles;

stigmas 2.

Fruits

Fruiting bracteoles ovate, of 2 sizes; larger ones 5-6 x 5 mm., smaller ones 2 x 2 mm. Seeds of larger bracteoles yellowish brown, of smaller bracteoles, black.

Atriplex argentea

Atriplex heterosperma

Flowering time

July-September

June-August

Habitat

Dry or alkaline soil.

Riparian zones and adjacent fields; tolerant of alkaline.

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains; also in eastern North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

Origin

Native

Introduced from Eurasia

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa