Atriplex coronata |
Atriplex heterosperma |
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crownscale, wedgescale |
orach, Russian atriplex, Russian atriplex orach |
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Habit | Herbs, erect or decumbent, 0.5–6 dm; branches terete, fructiferous almost to base, scurfy when young. | Herbs, monoecious, erect, branching from base, mostly 5–15 dm. | ||||||||
Leaves | alternate, subsessile or proximal short petiolate; blade ascending, oblong, oblong-ovate, or lanceolate to elliptic, 5–40 × 2–10 mm, thin, base acute to obtuse, margin entire, apex acute to acuminate. |
alternate except proximal-most; petiole 2–3 cm; blade green on both sides, triangular to lance-triangular, 30–120 × 12–90 mm, hastate or subcuneate, margin subentire or irregularly dentate, farinaceous at first, finally glabrous. |
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Flowers | of both sexes in small axillary glomerules, 5-merous. |
in terminal or axillary pyramidal panicles 6–25+ cm. |
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Staminate flowers | 5-merous, with bracteoles free to base. |
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Pistillate flowers | dimorphic, all bracteolate and lacking sepals. |
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Seeds | light brown to amber, 1–1.5 mm. |
vertical; of larger bracteoles yellowish brown, flat, 2–3 mm wide, dull; of smaller bracteoles black, 1.5 mm wide or less, shiny; radicle inferior, basal. |
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Fruiting | bracteoles almost sessile, broadly cuneate, 2–5 × (2–)2.5–5 mm, united to summit, truncate at summit, sides smooth or obscurely tuberculate. |
bracteoles orbiculate-ovate, of 2 sizes; larger ones 5–6 × 5 mm; smaller ones 2 × 2 mm, margin entire, surfaces smooth. |
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2n | = 36. |
= 36. |
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Atriplex coronata |
Atriplex heterosperma |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Riparian and palustrine (less commonly ruderal) habitats | |||||||||
Elevation | 0-2000 m (0-6600 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CA
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CA; CO; ID; ME; NE; NV; NY; OR; SD; UT; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Although placed within the Atriplex argentea species complex by P. C. Standley (1916), this taxon appears more nearly allied to A. cordulata, differing mainly in leaf shape, round-ovate or deltoid-ovate to elliptic or lanceolate (not ovate to cordate-ovate), and markedly tuberculate faces of the fruiting bracteoles. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Russian atriplex occurs with greasewood, saltgrass, cottonwood, tamarix, and weedy annuals. It is a handsome, vigorous ruderal, weedy annual indigenous to Europe east to Chinese Turkestan that appears to be invading saline lowland and other disturbed areas throughout much of North America. It is similar to Atriplex prostrata from which it can be distinguished by the entire margin and smooth surfaces of the fruiting bracteoles. Additionally, the leaves are thick-textured and often bear one or more lobes or teeth irregularly along the blade above the subbasal main hastate lobe. The staminate spikes when young are very slender, mainly less than 2.5 mm thick. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 4. | FNA vol. 4, p. 336. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Pusillae | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Teutliopsis | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | A. elegans var. coronata, Obione coronata | |||||||||
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 9: 114. (1874) | Bunge: Beitr. Fl. Russl., 272. (1852) | ||||||||
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