Atriplex serenana |
Atriplex heterosperma |
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bracteate orach, bractscale, saltscale, stinking orach |
orach, Russian atriplex, Russian atriplex orach |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, erect or sprawling, usually branched often forming tangled mats to 10 × (3–)5–20 dm, ascending branches sparsely scurfy. | Herbs, monoecious, erect, branching from base, mostly 5–15 dm. | ||||
Leaves | many, subsessile or very short petiolate; blade subconcolorous, lanceolate to oblong, elliptic, or oval, (8–)10–30(–40) × 3–12(–15) mm, margin sharply dentate to entire. |
alternate except proximal-most; petiole 2–3 cm; blade green on both sides, triangular to lance-triangular, 30–120 × 12–90 mm, hastate or subcuneate, margin subentire or irregularly dentate, farinaceous at first, finally glabrous. |
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Flowers | in terminal or axillary pyramidal panicles 6–25+ cm. |
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Staminate flowers | in glomerules in terminal spikes or panicles 3–20 cm, or reduced to solitary, rounded, terminal glomerule. |
5-merous, with bracteoles free to base. |
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Pistillate flower(s) | in small clusters, axillary. |
dimorphic, all bracteolate and lacking sepals. |
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Seeds | brown, 1–1.3(–1.5) mm. |
vertical; of larger bracteoles yellowish brown, flat, 2–3 mm wide, dull; of smaller bracteoles black, 1.5 mm wide or less, shiny; radicle inferior, basal. |
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Fruiting | bracteoles sessile or subsessile (stipe to 1 mm), cuneate-orbicular to obovate, somewhat compressed, 2.1–3.5 × (1.7–)2–3.7 mm, united 1/2 of length, margin sharply and often slenderly toothed beyond middle, faces often rather strongly veined, smooth or with 1 or more slender or flattened appendages. |
bracteoles orbiculate-ovate, of 2 sizes; larger ones 5–6 × 5 mm; smaller ones 2 × 2 mm, margin entire, surfaces smooth. |
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2n | = 18. |
= 36. |
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Atriplex serenana |
Atriplex heterosperma |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | |||||
Habitat | Riparian and palustrine (less commonly ruderal) habitats | |||||
Elevation | 0-2000 m (0-6600 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA; NV; nw Mexico
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CA; CO; ID; ME; NE; NV; NY; OR; SD; UT; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Russian atriplex occurs with greasewood, saltgrass, cottonwood, tamarix, and weedy annuals. It is a handsome, vigorous ruderal, weedy annual indigenous to Europe east to Chinese Turkestan that appears to be invading saline lowland and other disturbed areas throughout much of North America. It is similar to Atriplex prostrata from which it can be distinguished by the entire margin and smooth surfaces of the fruiting bracteoles. Additionally, the leaves are thick-textured and often bear one or more lobes or teeth irregularly along the blade above the subbasal main hastate lobe. The staminate spikes when young are very slender, mainly less than 2.5 mm thick. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 4, p. 361. | FNA vol. 4, p. 336. | ||||
Parent taxa | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Obione > sect. Obione > subsect. Arenariae | Chenopodiaceae > Atriplex > subg. Atriplex > sect. Teutliopsis | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | A. Nelson ex Abrams: Fl. Los Angeles, 128. (1904) | Bunge: Beitr. Fl. Russl., 272. (1852) | ||||
Web links |
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