E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Atriplex argentea Nutt.
Silvery Orache (Maidenhair Spleenwort; silver saltbush; silverscale saltbush)
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)
(Previously in Chenopodiaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Ryan Batten  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #66701)

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Distribution of Atriplex argentea
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Atriplex argentea var. argentea

Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect, freely branching from the base, 15-80 cm tall.
Leaves:
Lower leaves opposite, upper leaves alternate, stalked or stalkless, lanceolate to egg-shaped or diamond-shaped, 2-6 cm long, squared-off to wedge-shaped at the base, margins smooth to slightly toothed, covered with a white mealy substance and generally greyish-green overall, sometimes nearly glabrous on upper surfaces.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of axillary spikes, greenish, numerous; pistillate bracteoles fused, broadest above the middle, 4-10 mm long, firmly enclosing the fruit, the margins green and deeply toothed.
Fruits:
Membranous pericarps; seeds erect, about 1.5 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Saline disturbed areas and fields in the steppe and montane zones; rare in SC and SE BC; E to W MB and S to NM and N CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Additional Notes

"The genus Atriplex, commonly called orache, atriplex or saltbush, of the family Chenopodiaceae (the goosefoot family), comprises nearly 200 species. The genus has a worldwide distribution, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. Most of the species are halophytes of coastal or inland saline habitats; a few are widespread ruderals of disturbed ground." (Bassett et al. 1983).

References

Bassett, I. J., C. W. Crompton, J. McNeill and P. M. Taschereau. 1983. The genus Atriplex (Chenopodiaceae) in Canada. Monograph #31, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa.

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Amaranthaceae
Flora North America treatment for Chenopodiaceae (Previous Family)
 Flora North America treatment for Atriplex argentea
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-08 10:13:42 PM ]
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