''Atriplex parryi'' is a species of

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

known by the common name Parry's saltbush. It is native to the deserts and plateaus of eastern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and western Nevada. It is a plant of

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

and

saline soils Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...

in habitats such as salt flats, where it grows with other halophytes such as ''

Nitrophila ''Nitrophila'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the amaranth family sometimes known by the common name niterworts. The genus name is Greek for "soda-loving", as the plant grows in alkaline or salty soils, such as those rich in borax. Thes ...

''.

Description

This is a small, stiff, spiny

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing to a maximum height near 50 centimeters. Its scaly, sharp-pointed stems tangle to give the plant a generally rounded form. It is covered densely in small gray-green oval-shaped leaves up to 2 centimeters long. The shrub is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with individuals producing either male or female flowers. Both flower types are borne in long clusters interspersed with leaves. This species blooms from April to October.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
parryi Halophytes Flora of the California desert regions Flora of Nevada Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Mojave Desert Plants described in 1882 Dioecious plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Amaranthaceae-stub