Flora of North America species comparison

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Atriplex covillei

Atriplex truncata

Coville's orach

truncate saltbrush, wedge orach, wedge orache, wedgeleaf orache, wedgescale, wedgescale orache, wedgescale saltbush
Habit Herbs, spreading, 1–4(–5) dm and as broad. Herbs, typically erect.
Stems

terete, sparsely scurfy when young.

simple or more commonly branched throughout, mainly 2–8(–10) dm, branches mostly obtusely angled;

herbage scurfy, becoming glabrate.
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.

alternate or proximalmost opposite, short petiolate proximally, sessile and often cordate-clasping distally;

blade ovate to deltoid or oval, 4–30(–40) × 3–30 mm, base truncate or subhastate to rounded, margin entire or dentate, apex acute to obtuse.
Flowers

in axillary glomerules.
Staminate flowers

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

lobes obtuse, not appendaged.

in glomerules mainly in distal axils;

sepals 3–5.
Pistillate flowers

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

Seeds

dark reddish brown, 1–1.5 mm.

brown, 1–2 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 scarcely compressed, 2–3 mm and as wide, apex truncate to broadly rounded, with 3 (or more) teeth across summit, surfaces smooth (or rarely tuberculate).
2n

= 18.

Atriplex covillei

Atriplex truncata
Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Mixed saltbush-greasewood, rabbitbrush, warm desert shrub, and salt grass communities in saline substrates Saline saltgrass-greasewood-rabbitbrush communities, and other pans or palustrine or lacustrine habitats
Elevation 800-1700 m (2600-5600 ft) 400-2700 m (1300-8900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
[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.)
Source FNA vol. 4. FNA vol. 4, p. 354.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Covilleiae Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Truncatae
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. 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. 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. tularensis, A. watsonii, A. wolfii, A. wrightii
Synonyms Endolepis covillei Obione truncata, A. subdecumbens, A. truncata var. stricta
Name authority (Standley) J. F. Macbride: Contr. Gray Herb. 53: 11. (1918) (Torrey ex S. Watson) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 398. (1873)
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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