Atriplex lentiformis
Encyclopedia
Atriplex lentiformis is a species of saltbush
.
reaching one to three meters in height and generally more in width. It is highly branched and bears scaly or scurfy gray-green leaves up to 5 centimeters long and often toothed or rippled along the edges. This species may be dioecious or monoecious
, with individuals bearing either male or female flowers, or sometimes both. Male flowers are borne in narrow inflorescence
s up to 50 centimeters long, while inflorescence
s of female flowers are smaller and more compact. Plants can change from monoecious to dioecious and from male to female and vice versa.
are the food plants for the saltbush sootywing Hesperopsis
alpheus, a butterfly
.
Atriplex lentiformis is used in restoration
of riparian habitat
s, one of the native plant
s in riparian zone restoration
projects in its native ranges.
vegetative association
with the native Arrowweed - Pluchea sericea
, Velvet mesquite - Prosopis velutina
, and others in the Lower Colorado River
Valley
and Gila River
valleys of southwestern Arizona
, southeastern California
, and northwestern Mexico
.
The maximum height occurs where a groundwater
source supplies plentiful moisture, and saline
soil conditions are optimal for the quailbush with other plants losing from the competition. However, the invasive species
Tamarisk - Tamarix ramosissima
and tumbleweed
, Tumbling oracle - Atriplex rosea
are successful and problematic competitors. The "Saltbush" can reach 3.5 metres (11 ft) tall and wide in advantageous growing locales, with the form becoming a large flattened hemisphere
, with adjacent hemispheres merging into an impenetrable thicket
mass.
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
.
Distribution
Atriplex lentiformis is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in habitats with saline or alkaline soils, such as salt flats and dry lake beds, coastline, and desert scrub. It can also be found in nonsaline soils on riverbanks and woodland.Description
Atriplex lentiformis is a spreading, communal shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
reaching one to three meters in height and generally more in width. It is highly branched and bears scaly or scurfy gray-green leaves up to 5 centimeters long and often toothed or rippled along the edges. This species may be dioecious or monoecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with individuals bearing either male or female flowers, or sometimes both. Male flowers are borne in narrow inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s up to 50 centimeters long, while inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s of female flowers are smaller and more compact. Plants can change from monoecious to dioecious and from male to female and vice versa.
Uses
This saltbush species, A. lentiformis, and Atriplex canescensAtriplex canescens
Atriplex canescens, Chamiso, Chamiza, Four wing saltbush, Four-wing saltbush, and Fourwing saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the Amaranthaceae family, which is native to the western and mid-western United States....
are the food plants for the saltbush sootywing Hesperopsis
Hesperopsis
Hesperopsis is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae.-Species:*Hesperopsis alpheus *Hesperopsis gracielae *Hesperopsis libya -References:**...
alpheus, a butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
.
Atriplex lentiformis is used in restoration
Restoration ecology
-Definition:Restoration ecology is the scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action, within a short time frame...
of riparian habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, one of the native plant
Native plant
Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...
s in riparian zone restoration
Riparian zone restoration
Riparian zone restoration is the ecological restoration of riparian zone habitats of streams, rivers, springs, lakes, floodplains, and other hydrologic ecologies.Riparian zones have been degraded throughout much of the world...
projects in its native ranges.
Lower Gila River and Colorado River regions
Atriplex lentiformis grows in the Mesquite BosqueMesquite Bosque
Mesquite Bosque is a vegetative association within the Southwestern United States, under the Kuchler scheme of plant association categories.-Geography:...
vegetative association
Association (ecology)
An association is the "ultimate classification level" of ecological systems. Local conditions permit several understory species to coexist with the same overstory dominants, and associations refer to the many co-occurring species rather than just the few dominant ones.Associations have:#A...
with the native Arrowweed - Pluchea sericea
Pluchea sericea
Pluchea sericea, commonly called Arrowweed, is a rhizomatous evergreen shrub of riparian areas in the lower Sonoran Desert and surrounding areas...
, Velvet mesquite - Prosopis velutina
Prosopis velutina
Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium sized perennial tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran...
, and others in the Lower Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
Valley
Lower Colorado River Valley
The Lower Colorado River Valley is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Sea of Cortez in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja...
and Gila River
Gila River
The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...
valleys of southwestern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, southeastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and northwestern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
The maximum height occurs where a groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
source supplies plentiful moisture, and saline
Saline
Saline may refer to:* Salinity, the salt content of a solution** Saline water, water containing significant concentration of salts* Soil salinity, salt content of soil* Saline , a liquid with salt content to match the human body...
soil conditions are optimal for the quailbush with other plants losing from the competition. However, the invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
Tamarisk - Tamarix ramosissima
Tamarix ramosissima
Tamarix ramosissima, commonly known as Saltcedar, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems and feathery, pale green foliage.-Description:...
and tumbleweed
Tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, disengages from the root and tumbles away in the wind. Usually, the tumbleweed is the entire plant apart from the roots, but in a few species it is a flower cluster. The tumbleweed habit is most common in steppe and desert...
, Tumbling oracle - Atriplex rosea
Atriplex rosea
Atriplex rosea is a species of saltbush known by the common names tumbling saltbush, red orach, and tumbling orach. It is native to Eurasia but it is widespread elsewhere as an introduced species....
are successful and problematic competitors. The "Saltbush" can reach 3.5 metres (11 ft) tall and wide in advantageous growing locales, with the form becoming a large flattened hemisphere
Hemisphere
Hemisphere may refer to:*Half of a sphereAs half of the Earth:*Any half of the Earth, see Hemispheres of the Earth, see:...
, with adjacent hemispheres merging into an impenetrable thicket
Thicket
A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large amounts of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in the shelter of the maternal plants.In some conditions the...
mass.
See also
- List of Lepidoptera that feed on Atriplex
- List of Wildlife Refuges of the Lower Colorado River Valley