Atriplex coulteri |
Atriplex pacifica |
|
---|---|---|
Coulter's orach, Coulter's orache, Coulter's saltbush |
Davidson's saltbush, Pacific orach, south coast saltbush, south coast saltscale |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, sometimes flowering as an annual, spreading 0.7–10 dm, slightly woody at base. | Herbs, annual, prostrate, sometimes tinged red, 1–6 dm, forming tangled masses 3–10 dm diam., lightly scurfy when young. |
Stems | frequently tinged with red, much branched, sparsely scurfy. |
|
Leaves | many, sessile or short petiolate; blade obovate, oblong, oblanceolate, or elliptic, (5–)7–20 × 1–3(–5) mm, base cuneate, margin entire, apex acute. |
numerous, sessile or proximal short petiolate; blade greenish adaxially, paler abaxially, oblanceolate to spatulate-elliptic or oval, (3–)5–18 × 1–8 mm, margin entire, more scurfy abaxially. |
Staminate flowers | in glomerules in distal axils and short terminal spikes. |
in glomerules largely in distal bractless axils, thus short spicate; calyx 5-cleft. |
Pistillate flowers | in small axillary clusters. |
in proximal axils. |
Seeds | brown, 1.3–1.5 mm. |
light brown, 0.8–1 mm. |
Fruiting | bracteoles sessile or subsessile, broadly obovate, 2–3 mm and as broad or about as broad, united 1/2 of length, margin free, deeply and sharply dentate, narrowed at summit, faces smooth or sometimes tuberculate. |
bracteoles subsessile or stipe to 0.3 mm, suborbiculate to obovate, 1–1.5(–2) × 1.1–1.8 mm, united to middle, margin minutely 3–5-toothed at apex, otherwise entire, apex green, faces smooth or rarely tuberculate. |
Atriplex coulteri |
Atriplex pacifica |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–fall. | Flowering early spring–fall. |
Habitat | Somewhat alkaline or clay low places, valley grasslands, coastal sage scrub, coastal slopes | Mainly on sea bluffs |
Elevation | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) | 0-100 m (0-300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA
|
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
|
Discussion | Of conservation concern. Atriplex coulteri is closely allied to the geographically disjunct A. fruticulosa, from which it is said to differ in the compressed, small (2.5–3 mm) versus thickened and larger (3–5 mm) bracts. Specimens of A. fruticulosa, including the type, examined by me have bracteoles compressed-thickened, but hardly “globoid” as stated in the key to the species by H. M. Hall and F. E. Clements (1923). Additional specimens borrowed from California might clarify the situation; otherwise the two species are sufficiently close as to be treated as a single entity. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The name Atriplex ramosissima was published by Moquin-Tandon as a synonym, based on a name on a specimen in Nuttall’s herbarium. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 4, p. 363. | FNA vol. 4, p. 363. |
Parent taxa | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Arenariae | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Arenariae |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Obione coulteri | Obione microcarpa, A. ramosissima |
Name authority | (Moquin-Tandon) D. Dietrich: Syn. Pl. 5: 537. (1852) | A. Nelson: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 17: 99. (1904) |
Web links |