Flora of North America species comparison

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Atriplex nummularia

Atriplex torreyi

bluegreen saltbush, old man saltbush

Torrey saltbush, Torrey's quailbush, Torrey's saltbush
Habit Shrubs, semidioecious, mainly (15–)20–30 dm, with striated twigs. Shrubs, dioecious, forming broad clumps, mostly (8–)1.2–20(–30) dm; branchlets striately and often sharply angled, glabrous or sparingly puberulent, often becoming bluntly spiny.
Leaves

mostly alternate, short petiolate;

blade broadly ovate, rhombic to suborbiculate, (15–)30–65 mm, about as wide, thick, base cuneate, margin sinuate-dentate, apex obtuse to rounded.

persistent, alternate;

petiole 1–4 mm;

blade grayish or greenish, ovate to deltate, rhombic, oval, or lanceolate, typically subhastate, (5–)12–32 × 4–16(–20) mm, base truncate to obtuse, margin entire (rarely toothed), apex obtuse and apiculate.
Staminate flowers

crowded in glomerules on short or elongate, interrupted spikes in large paniculate clusters to 20 cm.

yellow, in clusters 1 mm wide, borne in panicles mainly 10–30 cm.
Pistillate flowers

in dense, compound panicles, or axillary, or along staminate panicle branches.

in once-branched panicles.
Seeds

brown, 2 mm wide.

brown, 1–1.9 mm wide.
Fruiting

bracteoles sessile, reticulately veined, rhombic to orbiculate, 5–12(–15) × 5–11 mm, papery all over or thick and corky, margin subentire to coarsely few-toothed.

bracteoles sessile, orbiculate, greatly compressed, 1.3–4 mm, about as wide, margin crenate, apex rounded.

Atriplex nummularia

Atriplex torreyi
Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Sandy coastal bluffs, disturbed sites such as roadsides
Elevation 0-2300 m (0-7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico; Australia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Atriplex nummularia is a rather coarse, broad-leaved, vigorous shrub, which has spread from some early introduction from Australia, possibly for use in stabilizing land.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Fruiting bracteoles mainly 1.3-3.8 × 2-4.6 mm, orbiculate to subreniform in outline; petiole 2-4 mm; rather broad distribution, but not of Cochise County, Arizona
var. torreyi
1. Fruiting bracteoles mainly 3-4 × 5-6 mm, subreniform; petiole 1-2 mm; Cochise County, Arizona
var. griffithsii
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 343. FNA vol. 4, p. 378.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Dialysex 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. 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. 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. truncata, A. tularensis, A. watsonii, A. wolfii, A. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
A. torreyi var. griffithsii, A. torreyi var. torreyi
Synonyms A. johnstonii Obione torreyi, A. lentiformis subsp. torreyi, A. lentiformis var. torreyi
Name authority Lindley: in T. L. Mitchell, J. Exped. Trop. Australia, 64. (1848) (S. Watson) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 9: 119. (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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