Atriplex semibaccata
Atriplex wrightii
Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, creeping saltbush
Wright's orach, Wright's saltbush
erect and ascending, sparsely branched or simple, obtusely angled, 1.5–10(–15) dm, stout, scurfy 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.
sessile or short petiolate;
blade white abaxially, green adaxially, linear to lanceolate, elliptic, or oblong, 15–75 × (1–)3–25 mm, thin, base cuneate to long attenuate, margin coarsely sinuate-dentate or entire, apex rounded to acute, mucronate, densely scurfy and pale abaxially, green and glabrous adaxially.
in small, terminal, leaf-bracteate glomerules 1.5 mm wide.
in glomerules, forming slender, usually dense, naked terminal narrowly paniculate spikes, panicles 6–30 cm;
glomerules beadlike, small, 2–3 mm thick;
calyx 5-cleft.
solitary or in few-flowered clusters in almost all but distalmost leaves.
in few-flowered axillary clusters.
dimorphic: black, 1.5–1.7 mm, or brown, 2 mm.
pale brown, 1 mm.
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 short stipitate, cuneate-orbiculate or broadly cuneate, compressed, 2–2.5 mm, united basally, apex rounded, acutely 5-dentate, faces 3-veined, usually unappendaged, rarely obscurely tuberculate.
= 18.
Atriplex semibaccata
Atriplex wrightii
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.)
The name Obione elegans var. radiata was discussed by H. M. Hall and F. E. Clements (1923), who did not see the Thurber type material, but did see another cited specimen, Wright 571, from west Texas, which is referable to Atriplex elegans. The concept of A. radiata, according to Coulter, includes A. wrightii as a synonym; the description supplied by him is of that entity.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
