Atriplex lentiformis

(Torrey) S. Watson

Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 9: 118. 1874.

IllustratedEndemic
Basionym: Obione lentiformis Torrey in L. Sitgreaves, Rep. Exped. Zuni Colorado Rivers, 169. 18 53
Synonyms: Atriplex breweri S. Watson Atriplex lentiformis subsp. breweri (S. Watson) H. M. Hall & Clements Atriplex lentiformis var. breweri (S. Watson) McMinn
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 377. Mentioned on page 331, 369, 376, 378.

Shrubs, dioecious or less commonly monoecious, mainly 10–25(–35) dm, as broad or broader, unarmed or rarely so; branchlets terete, commonly puberulent. Leaves persistent, alternate, petiolate; blade gray-green, deltate to rhombic, ovate, or oblong-elliptic, 5–50 × 5–50 mm, base truncate to subhastate, margin entire to repand or subhastately lobed, apex rounded to obtuse, scurfy. Staminate flowers yellow, in clusters 1–2 mm wide, borne in panicles 0.5–5 dm. Pistillate flowers with less complex panicles. Fruiting bracteoles sessile, orbiculate to oval, greatly compressed, mainly 3–4.5 mm and wide, crenulate, apex rounded. Seeds brown, 0.8–1.6 mm wide. 2n = 18.


Phenology: Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat: Saline to essentially non-saline drainages, stream and canal banks, roadsides, warm desert shrub, saltbush, and riparian communities
Elevation: 70-1000 m

Distribution

V4 747-distribution-map.gif

Ariz., Calif., Nev., Utah, Mexico.

Discussion

Materials of big saltbush from the coastal and near coastal regions of California have somewhat broader, merely ovate, rounded leaves, and they have been regarded either at species level as Atriplex breweri S. Watson or at either varietal or subspecific level (see synonymy). The plants intergrade completely in interior situations with typical A. lentiformis, and their recognition at taxonomic level seems superfluous. C. A. Hanson (1962) noted the existence of putative hybrids between A. lentiformis and the herbaceous species A. leucophylla and A. davidsonii. Putative hybrids are also known between this species and A. canescens.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Atriplex lentiformis"
Stanley L. Welsh +
(Torrey) S. Watson +
Obione lentiformis +
Ariz. +, Calif. +, Nev. +, Utah +  and Mexico. +
70-1000 m +
Saline to essentially non-saline drainages, stream and canal banks, roadsides, warm desert shrub, saltbush, and riparian communities +
Flowering spring–fall. +
Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
Atriplex breweri +, Atriplex lentiformis subsp. breweri +  and Atriplex lentiformis var. breweri +
Atriplex lentiformis +
Atriplex subg. Pterochiton +
species +