Flora of North America species comparison

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Atriplex semibaccata

Atriplex nummularia

Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, creeping saltbush

bluegreen saltbush, old man saltbush
Habit 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. Shrubs, semidioecious, mainly (15–)20–30 dm, with striated twigs.
Leaves

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.

mostly alternate, short petiolate;

blade broadly ovate, rhombic to suborbiculate, (15–)30–65 mm, about as wide, thick, base cuneate, margin sinuate-dentate, apex obtuse to rounded.
Staminate flowers

in small, terminal, leaf-bracteate glomerules 1.5 mm wide.

crowded in glomerules on short or elongate, interrupted spikes in large paniculate clusters to 20 cm.
Pistillate flowers

solitary or in few-flowered clusters in almost all but distalmost leaves.

in dense, compound panicles, or axillary, or along staminate panicle branches.
Seeds

dimorphic: black, 1.5–1.7 mm, or brown, 2 mm.

brown, 2 mm wide.
Fruiting

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 sessile, reticulately veined, rhombic to orbiculate, 5–12(–15) × 5–11 mm, papery all over or thick and corky, margin subentire to coarsely few-toothed.
2n

= 18.

Atriplex semibaccata

Atriplex nummularia
Phenology Flowering spring–early winter. Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Saline waste places, along roads and sidewalks, in marshes, in various plant communities Sandy coastal bluffs, disturbed sites such as roadsides
Elevation 10-1000 m (0-3300 ft) 0-2300 m (0-7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; DC; NM; NV; TX; UT; WA; Australia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico; Australia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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 nummularia is a rather coarse, broad-leaved, vigorous shrub, which has spread from some early introduction from Australia, possibly for use in stabilizing land.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 343. FNA vol. 4, p. 343.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Semibaccata Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Dialysex
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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms A. flagellaris A. johnstonii
Name authority R. Brown: Prodr., 406. (1810) Lindley: in T. L. Mitchell, J. Exped. Trop. Australia, 64. (1848)
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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