Atriplex watsonii
Atriplex oblongifolia
Watson's orach, Watson's saltbush
oblong-leaf orach, oblong-leaf orache
forming tangled mats 1–3 m across, woody at base, white scurfy.
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 above;
petiole 0.5–3 cm;
blade green on both sides or distal leaves whitish abaxially, triangular to lance-triangular, (20–)30–85 × 6–90 mm, base hastate or sub-cuneate, margin subentire, entire, or irregularly dentate, farinaceous at first, later glabrous.
in terminal or axillary ± paniculate inflorescences 6–25+ cm.
in large glomerules in naked, interrupted terminal spikes;
calyx 5-cleft.
with 5 sepals.
in small, axillary clusters.
dimorphic, all bracteolate and lacking sepals.
light brown, 1–1.5 mm.
vertical; of large bracteoles yellowish brown, 2–3 mm wide, flat, dull; of small bracteoles black, 1.5 mm wide or less, shiny;
radicle of brown seeds subbasal to median and antrorse.
bracteoles sessile or short stipitate, ovate to rhombic, united to beyond middle, 4–8 mm, margin entire to erose, faces plane.
loosely spaced, of 2 sizes; large fruiting bracteoles oval to ovate, 5–6 × 5 mm, with faces lacking appendages, small ones similar in shape, 2 mm and wide.
= 36.
Atriplex watsonii
Atriplex oblongifolia
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.)
I. J. Bassett et al. (1983) indicated that Atriplex oblongifolia formed abundant, very fertile hybrids with A. patula in the Botanic Garden at Manchester University. This is a weedy species with facies similar to both A. dioica and A. glabriuscula var. acadiensis. The proximal branches at least are opposite, similar to phases of the nearly allied A. patula, however. It is likewise an introduced ruderal weed of roadsides and other waste places. Its spread in North America awaits documentation. The thin, entire fruiting bracts without appendages are pointed to as diagnostic of this entity from other similar species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
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USDA Plants Database
BC
WA
Flora NW
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