Atriplex argentea
Atriplex saccaria
maidenhair spleenwort, silver orach, silver orache, silver saltbush, silverscale, silverscale orache, silverscale saltbush, silvery orache
sack saltbush, sack saltweed, stalk orach, stalk orache
mainly 0.5–4(–5) dm;
stems usually branched from base, terete, stout, angled;
herbage scurfy.
often opposite proximally, petiolate or distal bracteate ones subsessile, blade lance-ovate, lanceolate, deltoid, or cordate, 5–75 × 4–50(–75) mm, base subhastate or obtuse to acute, margin entire or essentially so, sometimes closely repand-dentate, apex obtuse to acute or rounded, scurfy (glabrous).
alternate or proximalmost subopposite, short petiolate or distal ones sessile;
petiole 2–5 mm;
blade cordate-ovate or subreniform to ovate to deltoid-ovate or oval, mainly 6–40 × 4–30 mm, base truncate to subcordate or broadly cuneate, margin entire or in some subhastately lobed or sometimes undulate-dentate, apex acute to rounded.
in axillary glomerules and terminal, interrupted spikes.
borne in distal axils, or in short dense spikes or panicles, or intermixed with pistillate, with 4–5-parted calyx.
usually in fascicles of 1–3 in proximal axils.
brown, 1.5–2 mm wide;
radicle superior or lateral.
brownish to whitish, 1.5–2.3 mm.
bracteoles sessile, subsessile, or stipitate (stipe 0.5–5 mm), cuneate-orbicular, (2.5–)4–11.2 × 2–8.8(–14) mm, margin foliaceous below apex, subentire or dentate to laciniate, face smooth, tuberculate, or crested, processes sometimes again toothed, teeth then aligned with axis of process.
bracteoles monomorphic or dimorphic, larger ones on stipes (2–)4–8(–15) mm, others sessile, united at base, round-triangular or suborbicular, 4–6 mm, irregularly and coarsely dentate and with ± densely beset with flat, cristate, or hornlike appendages, smaller bracteoles (lacking or rare in var. asterocarpa) in same axils, oblong to cuneate, 3–4 mm, apex truncate, dentate only at summit, faces smooth.
glomerules in distal axils or in short, naked, terminal (early deciduous) panicles;
flowers with 5-parted calyx.
= 18, 36, 54.
= 18.
Atriplex argentea
Atriplex saccaria
Varieties 5 (5 in the flora).
Herbarium materials have tended to represent a catchall for annual specimens not readily assignable to other taxa. Indeed, the distinguishing features of the Atriplex argentea complex are shared singly and often in combination with other taxa. Only by use of combinations of features can this taxon be defined. Those features, with much variation, center around the broad, typically ovate to deltoid leaf blades (often definitely 3-veined) and more-or-less compressed, sessile to subsessile (or short stipitate), fruiting bracteoles on which the marginal processes, or teeth, are mainly aligned with the plane compression, and with the faces quite smooth to variously appendaged. Still some specimens are apparently intermediate with other species, especially with the closely allied A. saccaria, with which it is at least partially sympatric.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Plants low, rounded, mainly 1-3(-4.5) dm; fruiting bracteoles sessile or rarely some short stipitate, the appendages mainly acuminate or acute-attenuate; Nevada and adjacent se California, se Oregon | → 2 |
1. Plants rather strict and often taller, mainly 2-4(-5) dm; fruiting bracteoles, at least some, short stipitate; appendages acute to less commonly acuminate to attenuate; other distribution | → 3 |
2. Leaf blades typically, but not always, constricted to the petiole; herbage merely scurfy, or with elongate trichomes mainly on the fruiting bracteoles; Nevada (except the southern part), and adjacent se California and se Oregon | var. hillmanii |
2. Leaf blades typically, if not always, cuneate to a winged petiole or merely sessile base; herbage copiously covered with elongate trichomes throughout, or mostly on the stems and fruiting bracteoles; Nye County, Nevada and adjacent Inyo County, California | var. longitrichoma |
3. Leaf blades elliptic to oval, attenuate to a cuneate base; sw Colorado, se Utah, and nw New Mexico | var. rydbergii |
3. Leaf blades triangular-ovate to oval, base broadly obtuse to acute or less commonly cuneate; various or other distribution | → 4 |
4. Distal leaves short petiolate; proximalmost leaves alternate; plants mostly less than 4 dm; British Columbia to Manitoba, s through Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Idaho, Utah, e Nevada, Colorado, w Kansas, ne Arizona, nw New Mexico | var. argentea |
4. Distal leaves sessile; proximalmost leaves opposite; plants mostly over 4 dm; California, s Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, w Oklahoma, w and n Texas | var. mohavensis |
1. Leaves mainly ovate to cordate in profile, the distalmost bracteate ones (and sometimes all) often broadly so in age; fruiting bracteoles with stipes to 10 mm, but seldom exceeding 6 mm; Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, s to Texas | var. saccaria |
1. Leaves oval to rhombic, the bases truncate to cuneate-attenuate; fruiting bracteoles with stipes of various length; sw Utah and adjacent states | → 2 |
2. Leaves oval to suborbiculate or less commonly elliptic; fruiting bracteoles with hornlike appendages, borne on stipes mainly 2-6 mm | var. asterocarpa |
2. Leaves rhombic to oval or triangular, base cuneate-attenuate; fruiting bracteoles with flattened processes, borne on stipes mainly 2-15 mm (sessile in some) | var. cornuta |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
KS Wildflowers, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
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