''Atriplex phyllostegia'' is a species of
saltbush known by the common names arrowscale, leafcover saltweed, and Truckee orach. It is native to the western United States from
California to
Utah, where it grows in meadow bottoms and areas with
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 ...
such as dry or ephemeral lakes.
Description
This is an annual herb with a mainly erect branching green stem growing up to 40 centimeters tall. The distinctive leaves are fleshy and diamond or arrowhead-shaped and 1 to 4 centimeters long. The plant is generally
monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
, although some individuals bear only female flowers.
Male and female flowers appear in the leaf axils, and the male flowers are sometimes borne in spikelike
inflorescences. The female flower clusters are enclosed in
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
eoles which may be up to 2 centimeters long and resemble the leaves.
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
phyllostegia
Flora of California
Flora of Nevada
Flora of Utah
Flora of the California desert regions
Flora of the Great Basin
Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Plants described in 1871
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Amaranthaceae-stub