General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems decumbent to erect, freely branched, mostly 0.6-2.5 m tall/long.

Leaves:
Lower leaves opposite, upper leaves alternate, stalked or stalkless, broadly lanceolate to egg-shaped, 5-20 cm long, 2-10 cm wide, blunt to arrowhead-shaped at the base, smooth or slightly toothed or undulate, covered with a whitish mealy substance when young but becoming glabrous and greenish with maturity.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of terminal or axillary spikes or panicles; pistillate flowers of 3 kinds, one with a small calyx and no bracteoles, one with small rounded bracteoles and the third with no calyx but 2 large, 6-12 mm wide, rounded bracteoles, these without teeth, veins merging above the base.

Fruits:
Membranous pericarps; seeds of the pistillate flowers without bracteoles, horizontal, small, black, those of the pistillate flowers with more or less heart-shaped bracteoles or the bracteoles rounded at the base, vertical, black or brown and about 2 mm wide.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Atriplex acuminata Waldst. & Kit.
Atriplex hortensis subsp. nitens (Schkuhr) E. Pons
Atriplex hortensis var. atrosanguinea hort.
Atriplex hortensis var. rubra L.
Atriplex nitens Schkuhr nom. illeg.

"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.