Atriplex glauca (Atriplex glauca)

Description

Atriplex (/ˈætrɪplɛks/) is a plant genus of 250–300 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (/ˈɒrətʃ/; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae s.l.. The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments. The generic name originated in Latin and was applied by Pliny the Elder to the edible oraches. The name saltbush derives from the fact that the plants retain salt in their leaves; they are able to grow in areas affected by soil salination. The species in genus Atriplex are annual or perennial herbs, subshrubs, or shrubs. The plants are often covered with bladderlike hairs, that later collapse and form a silvery, scurfy or mealy surface, rarely with elongate trichomes. The alternate or rarely opposite leaves are petiolate or sessile, often persistent or tardily deciduous. The flat or slightly fleshy leaf blades are either entire, or serrate, or lobed and very variable in shape. The inflorescences consist of axillary or terminal spikes or spicate panicles, or axillary clusters of glomeruled flowers. The flowers are unisexual, some species are monoecious, others dioecious. Male flowers consist of 3-5 perianth lobes and 3-5 stamens. Female flowers are usually lacking a perianth, but are enclosed by 2 foliaceous bracteoles, and contain an ovary with a short style and 2 stigmas. In fruit, the bracteoles can enlarge, thicken or become appendaged. They enclose the fruit tightly, without becoming connate to it. The pericarp is adnate to the vertically orientated, flattened seed. The seed coat is thick, leathery or hardening. The annular embryo surrounds the perisperm. The chromosome base number is x = 9, except for Atriplex lanfrancoi, which is x=10. A few Atriplex species are C3-plants, but most species are C4-plants, with a characteristic leaf anatomy (kranz anatomy). Atriplex glauca is an amaranth plant species described by Carl von Linnaeus . Atriplex glauca is included in the genus fatty foods , and the family amaranth plants . In addition to the nominate form, there is also the subspecies A. g. Embergeri .