Atriplex dioica is a species of saltbush known by the common names saline saltbush and halberdleaf orach. It is native to much of the United States and southern Canada, where it most often grows in saline and alkaline soils.[2]

Atriplex dioica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Atriplex
Species:
A. dioica
Binomial name
Atriplex dioica
Synonyms[1]
  • Atriplex lapathifolia Rydb.
  • Atriplex patula var. subspicata (Nutt.) S.Watson
  • Atriplex subspicata (Nutt.) Rydb.
  • Chenopodium subspicatum Nutt.

Description

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Atriplex dioica is an annual herb which varies in appearance, growing erect up to 150 cm (5 feet) tall, with a greenish striate stem. The greenish or reddish leaves are lance-shaped to arrowhead-shaped and may exceed 8 centimeters (3.2 inches) in length. The male and female flowers are borne in small, hard clusters.[3]

Taxonomy

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Atriplex dioica was first described as a species by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1818.[1] It was subsequently described and named as Atriplex subspicata by Per Axel Rydberg in 1906 correcting an earlier description by Thomas Nuttall from 1818 where it was named Chenopodium subspicatum.[4][5] As of 2023 Plants of the World Online and many prominent botanists including Jennifer Ackerfield and K.W. Allred consider the description by Rafinesque to have precedence and now classify it as Atriplex dioica.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Atriplex dioica". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  2. ^ Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains i–vii, 1–1392. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.
  3. ^ Cody, W. J. 1996. Flora of the Yukon Territory i–xvii, 1–669. NRC Research Press, Ottawa
  4. ^ "Atriplex subspicata". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Chenopodium subspicatum". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
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