Atriplex amnicola

Shrubs, predominantly dioecious, mainly 10–15 dm. Leaves short petiolate; blade elliptic to narrowly oblong or narrowly hastate with short divaricate basal lobes, 10–25 mm, margin entire or remotely dentate, apex obtuse to acute. Staminate flowers in compact glomerules 5 mm thick, forming terminal spikes. Pistillate flowers in axillary clusters and forming short, dense terminal spikes. Fruiting bracteoles somewhat rhombic to semicircular, biconvex, 4–6 mm wide, with a short hard turbinate base, thick and hard throughout or with a herbaceous margin, lacking appendages. Seeds circular.

Phenology: Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat: Sea beaches
Elevation: 10 m

Introduced; Calif., Australia.

Discussion

This is a singular, large, mostly dioecious shrub well established on the beach at Malibu, California. It produces abundant, hard, rhombic fruiting bracteoles. In its native western Australia, it occurs in coastal regions and inland along creeks and the outer margins of salt lakes.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa