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Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, creeping saltbush
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Blue Valley orach, slenderflower saltbush
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| Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, decumbent-prostrate, unarmed, mainly 0.5–8 dm and spreading to 15+ dm wide, unarmed, white scurfy when young; branches not angled. |
Herbs, branching from base, mainly 1–3 dm. |
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often suffused with red-purple, terete, sparingly farinose when young. |
many, alternate, subsessile or short petiolate; blade 1-veined, spatulate or obovate to oblong or elliptic, mainly 5–30(–40) × 2–9(–12) mm, base attenuate, margin remotely dentate to subentire, apex obtuse. |
mainly alternate, numerous; petiole 2–12(–16) mm; blade cordate-ovate to orbicular, subreniform, cordate, or deltoid, (5–)8–20(–25) mm and about as wide or wider, base truncate to cordate (or attenuate when young), apex rounded to obtuse or acute. |
in small, terminal, leaf-bracteate glomerules 1.5 mm wide. |
in loose, deciduous, terminal panicles overtopping foliage, rachis and branches filiform, glomerules often beadlike in alternate position along rachis, perianth 5-lobed. |
solitary or in few-flowered clusters in almost all but distalmost leaves. |
axillary. |
dimorphic: black, 1.5–1.7 mm, or brown, 2 mm. |
white, 3 mm wide, dull. |
bracteoles red-fleshy at maturity, sessile or short stipitate, strongly veined, rhombic, convex, 3–6.6 × 2.8–4.5 mm, united at base, margin toothed, apex obtuse to acute. |
bracteoles on stipes 2–6 mm, samaralike, suborbicular, oblong or cordate in outline, winged, compressed, 6–16 mm wide, margins 2–4 times as wide as body, wings undulate or entire, surfaces smooth. |
= 18. |
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| Flowering spring–early winter. |
Flowering summer. |
| Saline waste places, along roads and sidewalks, in marshes, in various plant communities |
Saltbush, mat-atriplex, seepweed, greasewood, rabbitbrush, and tamarix communities on saline, often salt encrusted and semibarren substrates derived from Mancos Shale, Tropic Shale, Entrada, and other fine-textured formations |
| 10-1000 m (0-3300 ft) |
1100-2000 m (3600-6600 ft) |
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AZ; CA; DC; NM; NV; TX; UT; WA; Australia [Introduced in North America]
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CO; UT |
The red-fleshy fruiting bracteoles are diagnostic of this introduced perennial, which is multi-stemmed from an often buried woody caudex. The Australian species Atriplex muelleri Bentham is somewhat similar. It has been has reported, but not verified, in the North American flora. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Atriplex graciliflora is unique among our indigenous atriplices in having samaralike, entire fruiting bracteoles. When the bracteoles are considered along with the slender, terminal, staminate panicles of alternating beadlike glomerules, the species is unmatched. Its relationship is apparently with A. saccaria, which has undergone considerable morphologic radiation within the Four Corners region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
| FNA vol. 4, p. 343. |
FNA vol. 4, p. 346. |
| Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Semibaccata |
Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Graciliflorae |
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. 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. 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. tularensis, A. watsonii, A. wolfii, A. wrightii |
| A. flagellaris |
Obione graciliflora |
| R. Brown: Prodr., 406. (1810) |
M. E. Jones: Proc. Cali f. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 5: 717. (1895) |
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CA
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
