Flora of North America species comparison

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Atriplex obovata

Atriplex tularensis

broadscale, mound saltbush, New Mexico saltbush, silver saltbush

Bakersfield smallscale, Tulare orach, Tulare saltbush
Habit Subshrubs, dioecious, clump forming, mainly 2–8 dm and as wide, woody at base. Herbs, erect, simple or sparingly branched, 1.5–4(–10) dm, white scurfy.
Stems

stiffly erect;

branchlets terete.

aging red, terete or obscurely angled, brittle.
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 or proximalmost opposite;

blade lanceolate to ovate, 6–20 × 4–8 mm, base rounded, margin entire, apex acute to acuminate, gray scurfy.
Staminate flowers

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

in small axillary dense glomerules, 4-merous.
Pistillate flowers

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

solitary or in small axillary clusters, below or mixed with staminate.
Seeds

brown, 2.4–2.8 mm.

dark brown, 1–1.2 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, rhombic-ovate, acute or acuminate, 2.5–3.5 × 2.2–3 mm, united to middle, thin margin toothed, faces plane, scurfy.

Atriplex obovata

Atriplex tularensis
Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Fine-textured substrates, with salt desert shrub and lower pinyon-juniper communities Alkaline plains, edges of alkali sink
Elevation 1500-2000 m (4900-6600 ft) 90-200 m (300-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; UT; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

H. M. Hall and F. E. Clements (1923) discussed the relationship of this plant to Atriplex cordulata, noting that, “A. tularensis is a much more slender plant, the leaves are narrower in proportion to their length,” and tapering to the base, never at all cordate. They noted further, that “The fruiting bracts are sometimes very similar in shape, but those of tularensis typically end in an abrupt acute tooth not present in cordulata and both bract and seed are always smaller.” Because of its small fruiting bracteoles it was placed within the Pusillae by P. C. Standley (1916). The erect stature, coupled with distinctive spreading-ascending and stiff (at least in dried material) leaves, and foliose bracts apparently distinguish A. tularensis from A. coronata.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 371. FNA vol. 4, p. 359.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Pterochiton Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Pusillae
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. 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. watsonii, A. wolfii, A. wrightii
Synonyms A. greggii, A. jonesii, A. obovata var. tuberata A. cordulata var. tularensis, Obione tularensis
Name authority Moquin-Tandon: Chenop. Monogr. Enum., 61. (1840) Coville: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 4: 182, plate 19. (1893)
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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