Atriplex watsonii
Atriplex nudicaulis
Watson's orach, Watson's saltbush
Baltic saltbush, nude orach
forming tangled mats 1–3 m across, woody at base, white scurfy.
simple or branched, erect or ascending, terete or subangular.
numerous, mostly opposite;
blade broadly elliptic to ovate, 8–25 mm, often surpassing internodes, thick and fleshy (when fresh), margin entire, apex acutish, white scurfy.
alternate or the proximalmost opposite, blade green, oblong, lanceolate, or ovate, proximal leaves lanceolate to rhombic-ovate, 10–30 × 5–13 mm, base rounded or hastately to cuneately narrowed to petiole, margin nearly always entire (some hastate), apex acute or rounded, rarely obtuse, glabrous on both sides.
in rather loose spiciform, axillary or terminal inflorescences.
in large glomerules in naked, interrupted terminal spikes;
calyx 5-cleft.
5-merous.
in small, axillary clusters.
enclosed by paired bracteoles.
light brown, 1–1.5 mm.
small, not or only moderately dimorphic: black, convex, 1.5–2 mm wide, lustrous, or light brown or olivaceous, compressed, 2.5–3 mm wide, duller, with subbasal, spreading radicle.
bracteoles sessile or short stipitate, ovate to rhombic, united to beyond middle, 4–8 mm, margin entire to erose, faces plane.
bracteoles green, midvein never impressed, sessile or with stipes 0.5–1.5 mm, broadly ovate to rhombic-ovate, 3–5 mm, distinct nearly to base, base rounded or more often hastate-cuneate, margin entire or sparingly toothed, apex acute or acuminate, faces smooth.
= 18.
Atriplex watsonii
Atriplex nudicaulis
Atriplex watsonii is a sprawling plant that exhibits much variation in leaf size, as attested in the clearly staminate type collection, Palmer 334, wherein the range in size is from 5–25 × 2.5–11 mm wide. Although typically placed adjacent to A. matamorensis, the other dioecious perennial, the two taxa are probably not closely allied. The broader-leaved phases simulate closely A. leucophylla, with which it is sometimes confused, and perhaps the relationship lies in that direction, but it closely simulates A. californica, with which it is probably most closely allied.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
M. M. Iljin, (1936) definitely placed Atriplex praecox within the synonymy of A. nudicaulis. The following note is included in Flora Europaea (P. Aellen 1964b): “In the Baltic and arctic Russia many subspecies of, or species related to 19 [i.e., A. longipes Dreger] have been described. Most of these are sympatric and are probably more correctly treated as variants of this group.” Listed are both A. nudicaulis and A. praecox, followed by short descriptions. Both have stalked bracteoles circa 5–6 mm, with the former being 3-veined and with lateral reticulum, the latter being 1-veined. If they are the same, then nudicaulis is the earliest name.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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