Flora of North America species comparison

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Atriplex covillei

Atriplex corrugata

Coville's orach

mat-atriplex, mat-saltbush, matscale
Habit Herbs, spreading, 1–4(–5) dm and as broad. Shrubs dioecious (rarely monoecious), low spreading (often appearing as if prostrate), mainly 0.3–1.5 × 3–15 dm.
Stems

terete, sparsely scurfy when young.

Leaves

petiole to 1/2 as long as blade (becoming subsessile distally);

blade green or finally stramineous, (10–)20–50 × 6–30 mm, firm, base abruptly acute to narrowly cuneate, apex acute to attenuate, sparsely scurfy.

persistent, sessile, opposite proximally, alternate distally;

blade linear to linear-oblanceolate, or oblong, 3–18 × 2–6 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse.
Staminate flowers

in sessile glomerules in distal axils, often mixed with pistillate ones, staminate calyx deeply 5-cleft;

lobes obtuse, not appendaged.

yellow to brownish, in clusters 3–6 mm wide, borne in spikes 1–8 cm.
Pistillate flowers

with calyx of (1–)3(–5) hyaline sepals.

in leafy bracteate spikes 5–15 cm.
Seeds

dark reddish brown, 1–1.5 mm.

brown, 1.5 mm wide.
Fruiting

bracteoles sessile or stipitate, 6–12 × 4–7 mm, margin mostly 3-lobed, with elongate terminal lobe triangular to lanceolate, 2 short rounded lobes at base or sides merely rounded at base, united to beyond middle.

bracteoles sessile or subsessile, panduriform, 3–5 × 4–6 mm, united to beyond middle, margin entire or undulate, apex rounded to acute, densely tuberculate (or smooth).
2n

= 36.

Atriplex covillei

Atriplex corrugata
Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Mixed saltbush-greasewood, rabbitbrush, warm desert shrub, and salt grass communities in saline substrates Saline, usually fine-textured substrates derived from Mancos Shale, Tropic Shale, Morrison, Duchesne River, and other similar formations in mat-atriplex and Castle Valley saltbush communities
Elevation 800-1700 m (2600-5600 ft) 1200-2200 m (3900-7200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
from FNA
CO; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Endolepis covillei was treated within the synonymy of Atriplex phyllostegia (Torrey) S. Watson by H. M. Hall and F. E. Clements (1923).

H. C. Stutz et al. (1993) placed Atriplex covillei within Endolepis, based in large part on the presence of a perianth subtending the pistil within the fruiting bracteoles and on the lack of Kranz anatomy in the leaves. The pattern of venation is, nevertheless, very similar to that in species with Kranz anatomy. The presence of perianth scales in the pistillate flowers of A. covillei has been regarded as evidence of relationship with A. suckleyi. Despite placement of these taxa within Endolepis by Stutz et al. Atriplex covillei is possibly more closely allied to the morphologically similar and partially sympatric A. phyllostegia than it is to strongly dissimilar and the distantly disjunct A. suckleyi. Stutz and his associates placed great emphasis on the presence of reduced perianth segments subtending the pistil within the fruiting bracteoles of A. covillei. Calyces per se, otherwise known only in A. suckleyi and A. pleiantha, probably have arisen independently. Their presence does not necessarily indicate a close relationship. Stutz et al. pointed to other differences aside from the calyx of the pistillate flowers, and it is apparent that the two entities can stand as distinct species. To segregate A. covillei within a separate genus and to ally it with a species to which its relationships are obscure at best, stretches logic beyond reason.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Mat-saltbush is known to form intermediates with both Atriplex confertifolia and A. gardneri var. cuneata. This saltbush is a valuable browse plant on the sparsely vegetated clays and silts of eastern Utah, especially on the Mancos Shale exposures, where it is often the only woody vegetation present.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 4. FNA vol. 4.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Covilleiae 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. coulteri, 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Endolepis covillei A. nuttallii var. corrugata
Name authority (Standley) J. F. Macbride: Contr. Gray Herb. 53: 11. (1918) S. Watson: Bot. Gaz. 16: 345. (1891)
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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