Atriplex parishii
Atriplex parishii var. subtilis
Parish's brittlescale, Parish's saltbush, Parrish's brittlescale
subtle orach
erect, much branched, 1–3 dm, densely scurfy;
branches opposite, often purple-reddish, neither ribbed nor striate;
internodes 5–15 mm.
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).
mostly opposite, sessile;
blade ovate-triangular to broadly ovate, 2–4 × 1–3 mm, mostly cordate-clasping, densely scurfy on both sides.
of both sexes intermixed in axillary glomerules, but sometimes staminate clustered toward apex.
mostly in distal axils pistillate in proximal axils, or mostly in terminal spike (var. persistens), or partly so (var. subtilis).
dark brown or almost black, 0.8–1.5 mm.
dark brown.
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.
bracteoles persistent, deltoid, 2.4–2.8 mm and wide, margin with 1–3 pairs of irregular teeth, proximalmost usually larger and retrorse, apex shortly acuminate, with 2 longitudinal rows of tubercles on 1 or both surfaces.
Atriplex parishii
Atriplex parishii var. subtilis
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.)
Of conservation concern.
Atriplex depressa var. subtilis occurs with Allenrolfea occidentalis, Distichlis spicata, Centromadia pungens, Suaeda Moquin-Tandonii, Spergularia macrotheca, Frankenia salina, and Sporobolus airoides and other Atriplex spp. Stutz and Chu compared this variety with Atriplex depressa, with whose more northern range in the Central Valley it is contiguous. The leaves are relatively small and the stems are thin. Plants of var. subtilis appear very much like an elongated, gracile form of var. parishii.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Fruiting bracteoles persistent, ± thickened and/or tuberculate on 1 or both faces | → 2 |
1. Fruiting bracteoles deciduous, compressed, faces smooth or tuberculate | → 3 |
2. Stems, even in inflorescences, mainly over 1.5 mm thick; staminate flowers borne mainly in terminal spikes; fruiting bracteoles 2.5-3.5(-4) mm; Colusa, Glenn, Merced, Solano, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties. | var. persistens |
2. Stems all or at least above, filiform, less than 1.5 mm thick; staminate flowers borne mainly in axillary glomerules, only sometimes somewhat spicate; fruiting bracteoles 2.4-2.8 mm; Fresno, Kings, Kern, Madera, and Tulare counties | var. subtilis |
3. Plants with elongate slender hairs in inflorescences; foliose bracts of inflorescence spreading, tips ± recurved; plants of Los Angeles (or Orange), Riverside, and San Diego counties | var. parishii |
3. Plants merely scurfy in inflorescences; foliose bracts of inflorescence spreading-ascending, tips not or not especially recurved | → 4 |
4. Leaves all or mainly opposite, 3-7 mm; fruiting bracteoles with appendages not in rows, on abaxial surface only; Glenn, Solano, and Yolo counties | var. depressa |
4. Leaves all or mainly alternate, 4-10 mm; fruiting bracteoles with faces smooth; Tulare and Kern counties | var. minuscula |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
