Burke: Atriplex semibaccata vs. Atriplex oblongifolia

	Atriplex semibaccata	Atriplex oblongifolia
	Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, creeping saltbush	oblongleaf orache
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 semibaccata	Atriplex oblongifolia
Flowering time	April-September	June-September
Habitat	Disturbed areas from dry to moist, tolerant of alkaline soils.	Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Distribution	Occasionally introduced in eastern and central WA; scattered localities primarily in southwestern US. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Washington, east to Alberta and Montana. [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Australia	Introduced from Europe
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	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	A. argentea, A. canescens, A. dioica, A. gardneri, A. gmelinii, A. heterosperma, A. hortensis, A. littoralis, A. longipes, A. patula, A. prostrata, A. rosea, A. semibaccata, A. truncata
Web links	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	Local floras: BC, WA Local Web sites: 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 semibaccata

Atriplex oblongifolia

Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, creeping saltbush

oblongleaf orache

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.