Burke: Atriplex argentea vs. Atriplex semibaccata

	Atriplex argentea	Atriplex semibaccata
	silver orache, silverscale orache	Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, creeping saltbush
Habit		Monoecious, unarmed, perennial herbs or sub-shrubs, prostrate to decumbent, the stems 0.5-8 dm. tall and up to 15 dm. across the plant, white-scurfy when young.
Leaves		Leaves many, alternate, obovate to elliptic, 5-30 mm. long and 2-9 mm. wide, the base tapered, the margins entire to remotely dentate, the tip obtuse.
Flowers		Staminate flowers in small, terminal, leafy-bracteate clusters 1.5 mm. wide; pistillate flowers solitary or in few-flowered clusters in most leaf axils.
Fruits		Fruiting bracteoles fleshy and red at maturity, sessile, strongly veined.

	Atriplex argentea	Atriplex semibaccata
Flowering time	July-September	April-September
Habitat	Dry or alkaline soil.	Disturbed areas from dry to moist, tolerant of alkaline soils.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central British Columbia to California, east to the Great Plains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occasionally introduced in eastern and central WA; scattered localities primarily in southwestern US. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Introduced from Australia
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. heterosperma, A. hortensis, A. littoralis, A. longipes, A. oblongifolia, A. patula, A. prostrata, A. rosea, 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: CA, 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 argentea

Atriplex semibaccata

silver orache, silverscale orache

Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, creeping saltbush

Habit

Monoecious, unarmed, perennial herbs or sub-shrubs, prostrate to decumbent, the stems 0.5-8 dm. tall and up to 15 dm. across the plant, white-scurfy when young.

Leaves

Leaves many, alternate, obovate to elliptic, 5-30 mm. long and 2-9 mm. wide, the base tapered, the margins entire to remotely dentate, the tip obtuse.

Flowers

Staminate flowers in small, terminal, leafy-bracteate clusters 1.5 mm. wide; pistillate flowers solitary or in few-flowered clusters in most leaf axils.

Fruits

Fruiting bracteoles fleshy and red at maturity, sessile, strongly veined.