Phil Bendle Collection:Atriplex prostrata (Orache)

Kingdom: Plantae
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta
Superdivision: Spermatophyta
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Chenopodiaceae
Genus: Atriplex
Species: A. prostrata
Binomial name: Atriplex prostrata
Synonyms: Atriplex novae-zelandiae, Atriplex hastate, Atriplex hastata L. var. salina, Atriplex patula L. var. hastate, Atriplex prostrata var. prostrata.
Common names: Orache, Atriplex, Creeping saltbush, Fat-hen, Halberd-leaf orache, Hastate orache, Hastate saltplant, Mat saltbush, Spade leaf, Spear leaved orache, spear-leaved orache, Spear-scale, Thin-leaf orach, Triangle orache.

Atriplex prostrata is regarded as an environmental weed in New Zealand and in many other parts of the world. It is common throughout coastal New Zealand.  It is mainly a weed of arable land, waste places, disturbed ground, coastal habitats, creek margins and estuaries.
It is a much-branched, spreading to sub-erect annual herb with male and female reproductive organs on different parts of the same plant. The slender ribbed stems are dark red.
The leaves are green and often reddening with age. They are arrow-shaped, sparsely toothed with the basal lobes at right angles to the stalks. The root system consists of a branching taproot.
It flowers during Dec.–Feb and they are in fairly dense panicles and are leafy below. Fruits are enclosed in triangular toothed bracts and contain long shiny black/brown seeds.
Pollination is by the wind. The root system consists of a branching taproot. This plant spreads by reseeding itself.

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The ribbed stem.
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Another leaf shape.
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Another leaf shape.
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Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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