FNA: Atriplex obovata vs. Atriplex linearis

	Atriplex obovata	Atriplex linearis
	broadscale, mound saltbush, New Mexico saltbush, silver saltbush	slenderleaf saltbush, thinleaf fourwing saltbush
Habit	Subshrubs, dioecious, clump forming, mainly 2–8 dm and as wide, woody at base.	Shrubs dioecious, erect, mainly 10–25 dm; branchlets slender, terete.
Stems	stiffly erect; branchlets terete.
Leaves	tardily deciduous, alternate or proximal-most subopposite, shortly petiolate; blade gray green, oblong-ovate to elliptic or orbiculate, 8–30(–35) × 6–20 mm, margin entire or rarely dentate, apex rounded to retuse or obtuse.	sessile; blade narrowly linear-elliptic, 10–50 × 2–3 mm, firm, revolute, often acute apically.
Staminate flowers	yellow, in clusters 2–3 mm wide, borne in panicles 6–30 cm.	in glomerules borne in slender interrupted mostly paniculate spikes.
Pistillate flowers	in small, very numerous glomerules in axils of elongated, terminal leafy-bracteate spikes or finally paniculate.	paniculate or in few-flowered axillary glomerules.
Seeds	brown, 2.4–2.8 mm.
Fruiting	bracteoles sessile or substipitate, 4–5 × 5–9 mm, base broadly cuneate, margin sharply toothed, apical tooth subtended by 2–6 equal or smaller teeth, faces smooth or rarely tuberculate.	bracteoles sessile or subsessile, lanceolate to ovate, 4–6 mm, about as wide, each bract with a pair of thin wings 3 mm broad or less, irregularly dentate or laciniate, free tips of bracts much exceeding the wings.
2n		= 18.

	Atriplex obovata	Atriplex linearis
Phenology	Flowering summer–fall.	Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat	Fine-textured substrates, with salt desert shrub and lower pinyon-juniper communities	Saline deserts, with shadscale, Canotia, Yucca, Opuntia, Rhus, and Eriogonum
Elevation	1500-2000 m (4900-6600 ft)	0-800 m (0-2600 ft)
Distribution	AZ; CO; NM; TX; UT; Mexico [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	AZ; CA; nw Mexico (Baja California, Sonora) [WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion		Specimens of Atriplex canescens var. macilenta resemble A. linearis. The taxa have been placed together by some previous workers. Nevertheless, the stems of A. linearis are consistently more slender, the leaves proportionally narrower, and the bracts, though smaller, more closely simulate those of A. canescens. Its diploid nature signals a different evolutionary pathway than that for most of A. canescens, considered broadly. Narrow leaves occur within A. canescens, in the broad sense, sometimes with geographic correlation, sometimes not. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 4, p. 371.	FNA vol. 4, p. 381.
Parent taxa	Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Pterochiton	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. nummularia, A. oblongifolia, 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. 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	A. greggii, A. jonesii, A. obovata var. tuberata	A. canescens subsp. linearis, A. canescens var. linearis
Name authority	Moquin-Tandon: Chenop. Monogr. Enum., 61. (1840)	S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 24: 72. (1889)
Web links	WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Atriplex linearis

broadscale, mound saltbush, New Mexico saltbush, silver saltbush

slenderleaf saltbush, thinleaf fourwing saltbush

Habit

Subshrubs, dioecious, clump forming, mainly 2–8 dm and as wide, woody at base.

Shrubs dioecious, erect, mainly 10–25 dm; branchlets slender, terete.

Stems

stiffly erect;

branchlets terete.

Leaves

tardily deciduous, alternate or proximal-most subopposite, shortly petiolate;

blade gray green, oblong-ovate to elliptic or orbiculate, 8–30(–35) × 6–20 mm, margin entire or rarely dentate, apex rounded to retuse or obtuse.

sessile;

blade narrowly linear-elliptic, 10–50 × 2–3 mm, firm, revolute, often acute apically.

Staminate flowers

yellow, in clusters 2–3 mm wide, borne in panicles 6–30 cm.

in glomerules borne in slender interrupted mostly paniculate spikes.

Pistillate flowers

in small, very numerous glomerules in axils of elongated, terminal leafy-bracteate spikes or finally paniculate.

paniculate or in few-flowered axillary glomerules.

Seeds

brown, 2.4–2.8 mm.

Fruiting

bracteoles sessile or substipitate, 4–5 × 5–9 mm, base broadly cuneate, margin sharply toothed, apical tooth subtended by 2–6 equal or smaller teeth, faces smooth or rarely tuberculate.

bracteoles sessile or subsessile, lanceolate to ovate, 4–6 mm, about as wide, each bract with a pair of thin wings 3 mm broad or less, irregularly dentate or laciniate, free tips of bracts much exceeding the wings.

= 18.

Atriplex obovata

Atriplex linearis

Phenology

Flowering summer–fall.

Flowering spring–fall.

Habitat

Fine-textured substrates, with salt desert shrub and lower pinyon-juniper communities

Saline deserts, with shadscale, Canotia, Yucca, Opuntia, Rhus, and Eriogonum

Elevation

1500-2000 m (4900-6600 ft)

0-800 m (0-2600 ft)

Distribution

AZ; CO; NM; TX; UT; Mexico

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

AZ; CA; nw Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)

[WildflowerSearch map]

Discussion

Specimens of Atriplex canescens var. macilenta resemble A. linearis. The taxa have been placed together by some previous workers. Nevertheless, the stems of A. linearis are consistently more slender, the leaves proportionally narrower, and the bracts, though smaller, more closely simulate those of A. canescens. Its diploid nature signals a different evolutionary pathway than that for most of A. canescens, considered broadly. Narrow leaves occur within A. canescens, in the broad sense, sometimes with geographic correlation, sometimes not.

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

Source

FNA vol. 4, p. 371.

FNA vol. 4, p. 381.

Parent taxa

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. nummularia, A. oblongifolia, 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. 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

A. greggii, A. jonesii, A. obovata var. tuberata

A. canescens subsp. linearis, A. canescens var. linearis

Name authority

Moquin-Tandon: Chenop. Monogr. Enum., 61. (1840)

S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 24: 72. (1889)

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).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

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Flora of North America species comparison

Atriplex obovata

Atriplex linearis

Atriplex obovata

Atriplex linearis