Flora of North America species comparison

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Atriplex coulteri

Atriplex polycarpa

Coulter's orach, Coulter's orache, Coulter's saltbush

allscale, allscale saltbush, cattle saltbush, cattle-spinach, desert saltbush
Habit Herbs, perennial, sometimes flowering as an annual, spreading 0.7–10 dm, slightly woody at base. Shrubs, dioecious or sub-monoecious, mainly 10–20 dm.
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.

tardily deciduous, alternate, sessile or nearly so;

blade spatulate to obovate or oblong, 3–15(–2.) × 2–4 mm, margin entire, apex typically acute.
Staminate flowers

in glomerules in distal axils and short terminal spikes.

appearing silvery, in clusters 1.5–3 mm wide, borne in paniculate, naked spikes 5–25 cm;

anthers yellow.
Pistillate flowers

in small axillary clusters.

with fruiting bracteoles sessile, cuneate-orbicular to semicircular, 1.5–2.5 × 2–3 mm, united to near middle, margin deeply laciniate-dentate, tuberculate or sometimes smooth dorsally.
Seeds

brown, 1.3–1.5 mm.

pale brown, 1–1.5 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.

2n

= 18, 36.

Atriplex coulteri

Atriplex polycarpa
Phenology Flowering spring–fall. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Somewhat alkaline or clay low places, valley grasslands, coastal sage scrub, coastal slopes Warm desert shrub communities (creosote bush, ambrosia, shadscale, mesquite, saltgrass, etc.), mainly in fine-textured saline substrates
Elevation 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) 60-1500 m (200-4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT; n Mexico (Baja California to Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Atriplex polycarpa consists of two or more chromosomal races based on different polyploid levels. The races form hybrids with Atriplex canescens in south California, resulting in partially stabilized entities known as varieties laciniata and macilenta. The plants evidently form hybrids with A. lentiformis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 363. FNA vol. 4, p. 376.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Arenariae Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Pterochiton
Sibling taxa
A. acanthocarpa, A. amnicola, A. argentea, A. californica, A. canescens, A. confertifolia, A. cordulata, A. coronata, A. corrugata, A. covillei, A. dioica, A. elegans, A. fruticulosa, A. gardneri, A. garrettii, A. glabriuscula, A. gmelinii, A. graciliflora, A. heterosperma, A. holocarpa, A. hortensis, A. hymenelytra, A. joaquiniana, A. klebergorum, A. laciniata, A. lentiformis, A. leucophylla, A. lindleyi, A. linearis, A. littoralis, A. matamorensis, A. mucronata, A. nudicaulis, A. nummularia, A. oblongifolia, A. obovata, A. pacifica, A. parishii, A. parryi, A. patula, A. pentandra, A. phyllostegia, A. pleiantha, A. polycarpa, A. powellii, A. prostrata, A. pusilla, A. rosea, A. saccaria, A. semibaccata, A. serenana, A. spinifera, A. suberecta, A. suckleyi, A. tatarica, A. torreyi, A. truncata, A. tularensis, A. watsonii, A. wolfii, A. wrightii
A. acanthocarpa, A. amnicola, A. argentea, A. californica, A. canescens, A. confertifolia, A. cordulata, A. coronata, A. corrugata, A. coulteri, A. covillei, A. dioica, A. elegans, A. fruticulosa, A. gardneri, A. garrettii, A. glabriuscula, A. gmelinii, A. graciliflora, A. heterosperma, A. holocarpa, A. hortensis, A. hymenelytra, A. joaquiniana, A. klebergorum, A. laciniata, A. lentiformis, A. leucophylla, A. lindleyi, A. linearis, A. littoralis, A. matamorensis, A. mucronata, A. nudicaulis, A. nummularia, A. oblongifolia, A. obovata, A. pacifica, A. parishii, A. parryi, A. patula, A. pentandra, A. phyllostegia, A. pleiantha, A. powellii, A. prostrata, A. pusilla, A. rosea, A. saccaria, A. semibaccata, A. serenana, A. spinifera, A. suberecta, A. suckleyi, A. tatarica, A. torreyi, A. truncata, A. tularensis, A. watsonii, A. wolfii, A. wrightii
Synonyms Obione coulteri Obione polycarpa, A. curvidensB
Name authority (Moquin-Tandon) D. Dietrich: Syn. Pl. 5: 537. (1852) (Torrey) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 9: 117. (1874)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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