Atriplex parishii |
Atriplex littoralis |
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Parish's brittlescale, Parish's saltbush, Parrish's brittlescale |
grassleaf orache, linear-leaf orache, narrow-leaf atriplex, narrow-leaf orache |
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Habit | Herbs, erect or spreading to prostrate, 0.5–3 dm; branches almost horizontal to ascending, fragile, white scurfy or villous (in var. parishii). | Herbs, monoecious or subdioecious, 2.5–7.5(–10) dm. | ||||||||||||||||
Stems | erect or forming sprawling tangled clumps and mostly green; branches erect-ascending, proximal ones opposite and ascending, sparsely scurfy when young, obtusely angled. |
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Leaves | numerous, all or nearly all opposite or almost all alternate, distal ones imbricate or widely separated, tending to recurve; blade lanceolate to ovate, (2–)4–10 × 3–8 mm, rigid, base mostly rounded to cordate, margin entire, gray to white, densely scurfy (or hairy). |
alternate or only proximalmost opposite, all shortly petiolate; blade green on both surfaces, linear, linear-oblong, linear-lanceolate, or oblong, (10–)25–80(–120) × 2–8(–12) mm, thin, gradually narrowed, margin mostly entire or some sinuate-dentate with antrorse teeth, apex obtuse to acuminate. |
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Inflorescences | of long, dense or interrupted hairy spikes often forming panicle to 20 cm; staminate flowers 4–5-merous. |
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Staminate flowers | mostly in distal axils pistillate in proximal axils, or mostly in terminal spike (var. persistens), or partly so (var. subtilis). |
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Seeds | dark brown or almost black, 0.8–1.5 mm. |
dimorphic: brown, 2–2.8 mm wide, round and ± flattened, or black, 1.5–2 mm wide, round, evenly convex; radicle inferior. |
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Fruiting | bracteoles sessile, ovate or rhombic, slightly compressed to thickened, 2–3.5(–4) mm and about as broad or sometimes broader, often subhastately lobed, united 1/2 of length, entire or with few teeth on each side, tuberculate on 1 or both faces. |
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Pistillate | bracteoles sessile, triangular to ovate or ovate-rhombic, (3–)5–7 mm, mostly denticulate, rarely subentire, faces tuberculate almost distinct, green becoming brown or black. |
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2n | = 18. |
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Atriplex parishii |
Atriplex littoralis |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | |||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Sea beaches and other saline habitats, old ports and ballast dumps | |||||||||||||||||
Elevation | mainly below 100 m (mainly below 300 ft) | |||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
CA
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IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; NH; OH; PA; NB; NS; PE; Europe [Introduced in North America] |
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Discussion | Varieties 5 (5 in the flora). The Atriplex parishii complex consists of a series of microphyllous, low clump-forming annuals apparently disjunct from each other in the Central Valley of California and in near coastal southern California. Often they occupy vernal pools that dry as the season progresses; the substrates in all cases evidently are saline or alkaline, or both. For the most part, the bracteate distal leaves are cordate to rounded at the base, and spreading to spreading-ascending, and the fruiting bracteoles are mainly less than 3.5 mm in length. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 4, p. 356. | FNA vol. 4. | ||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Pusillae | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Teutliopsis | ||||||||||||||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||
Synonyms | Obione parishii | A. hastata var. littoralis, A. patula var. littoralis, A. patula subsp. littoralis | ||||||||||||||||
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 377. (1882) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1054. (1753) | ||||||||||||||||
Web links |