Atriplex glabriuscula |
Atriplex pacifica |
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bract orache, glabrous orach, scotland orache |
Davidson's saltbush, Pacific orach, south coast saltbush, south coast saltscale |
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Habit | Herbs, monoecious, prostrate or sprawling, or sometimes erect, branched, (1–)2–10 dm; branches opposite or subopposite. | Herbs, annual, prostrate, sometimes tinged red, 1–6 dm, forming tangled masses 3–10 dm diam., lightly scurfy when young. | ||||||||
Stems | green and striped, often blue-green when fresh, weakly ridged, sparsely scurfy to glabrous. |
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Leaves | petiole 0.2–2.5(–3.5) cm; blade all entire or some or all triangular or lance-hastate with lobes spreading to antrorse, 5–100 × 3–80 mm, base abruptly to narrowly cuneate, entire or irregularly toothed. |
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. |
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Flowers | in loose glomerules, arranged in foliose, interrupted spikes or axillary, terminating stems and branches. |
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Staminate flowers | in glomerules largely in distal bractless axils, thus short spicate; calyx 5-cleft. |
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Pistillate flowers | in proximal axils. |
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Seeds | dimorphic: brown, 2.5–4 mm wide (often the only ones present), or black, (1.2–)1.5–2.9(–3) mm wide; radicle median, ± antrorse, of brown seed basal and spreading. |
light brown, 0.8–1 mm. |
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Bracteoles | green, becoming black or reddish to yellow brown, sessile or some short stipitate, venation obscure, ovate-triangular to rhombic-triangular, 5–13 mm, margin united almost to middle, with few irregular teeth or entire, apex abruptly acuminate, faces irregularly muricate, tuberculate, or smooth, inflated, spongy inner layer strongly developed at bracteole base. |
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Fruiting | 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. |
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2n | = 18, 36. |
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Atriplex glabriuscula |
Atriplex pacifica |
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Phenology | Flowering early spring–fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Mainly on sea bluffs | |||||||||
Elevation | 0-100 m (0-300 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CT; MA; ME; NH; PA; AB; MB; NB; NS; PE; QC; Europe
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CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Members of the Atriplex glabriuscula complex occupy saline or brackish marshes and saline coastal strands mainly in the eastern maritime provinces of Canada, with extensions in similar habitats into the northeastern United States. They are seldom, if ever, ruderal weeds and appear to be indigenous or perhaps early introduced in some part from similar European habitats. The constituent taxa have been regarded at specific level (P. M. Taschereau 1972; I. J. Bassett et al. 1983). They are, however, alike in all major morphologic features, and are apparently closely allied. For those who wish to treat them at specific level, the names are supplied in the synonymy. (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.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 4. | FNA vol. 4, p. 363. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Teutliopsis | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Arenariae | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Obione microcarpa, A. ramosissima | |||||||||
Name authority | Edmondston: Fl. Shetland, 39. (1845) | A. Nelson: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 17: 99. (1904) | ||||||||
Web links |