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broadscale, mound saltbush, New Mexico saltbush, silver saltbush

oblong-leaf orach, oblong-leaf orache

Habit Subshrubs, dioecious, clump forming, mainly 2–8 dm and as wide, woody at base. Herbs, erect, branching from base, mostly 6–12 dm.
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.

alternate above;

petiole 0.5–3 cm;

blade green on both sides or distal leaves whitish abaxially, triangular to lance-triangular, (20–)30–85 × 6–90 mm, base hastate or sub-cuneate, margin subentire, entire, or irregularly dentate, farinaceous at first, later glabrous.

Flowers

in terminal or axillary ± paniculate inflorescences 6–25+ cm.

Staminate flowers

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

with 5 sepals.

Pistillate flowers

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

dimorphic, all bracteolate and lacking sepals.

Seeds

brown, 2.4–2.8 mm.

vertical; of large bracteoles yellowish brown, 2–3 mm wide, flat, dull; of small bracteoles black, 1.5 mm wide or less, shiny;

radicle of brown seeds subbasal to median and antrorse.

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

loosely spaced, of 2 sizes; large fruiting bracteoles oval to ovate, 5–6 × 5 mm, with faces lacking appendages, small ones similar in shape, 2 mm and wide.

2n

= 36.

Atriplex obovata

Atriplex oblongifolia

Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering summer.
Habitat Fine-textured substrates, with salt desert shrub and lower pinyon-juniper communities Ruderal
Elevation 1500-2000 m (4900-6600 ft) 400-1000 m (1300-3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; UT; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
SD; AB; BC; ON; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

I. J. Bassett et al. (1983) indicated that Atriplex oblongifolia formed abundant, very fertile hybrids with A. patula in the Botanic Garden at Manchester University. This is a weedy species with facies similar to both A. dioica and A. glabriuscula var. acadiensis. The proximal branches at least are opposite, similar to phases of the nearly allied A. patula, however. It is likewise an introduced ruderal weed of roadsides and other waste places. Its spread in North America awaits documentation. The thin, entire fruiting bracts without appendages are pointed to as diagnostic of this entity from other similar species.

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

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 371. FNA vol. 4, p. 333.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Pterochiton Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Teutliopsis
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. linearis, A. littoralis, A. matamorensis, A. mucronata, A. nudicaulis, A. nummularia, 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
Name authority Moquin-Tandon: Chenop. Monogr. Enum., 61. (1840) Waldstein & Kitaibel: Descr. Icon. Pl. Hung. 3: 278, plate 211. (1812)
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