Atriplex holocarpa

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Atriplex holocarpa
Atriplex holocarpa.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Atriplex
Species:
A. holocarpa
Binomial name
Atriplex holocarpa
A. holocarpa range, Atlas of Living Australia.png
Atriplex holocarpa range, Atlas of Living Australia

Atriplex holocarpa is a low-growing species of Atriplex (saltbush) found throughout arid regions of Australia. [1] A. holocarpa is commonly known as pop saltbush, because its carpals pop when stepped upon. [2]

Contents

Atriplex holocarpa was described by Ferdinand von Mueller during his 1859 voyages through inland Australia. [3] The name 'Atriplex' is from the Latin atriplexum, meaning 'orache', a plant used in ancient times as spinach substitute [4]

The Latin holocarpa describes the spongey carpel and holocarpa denotes the plant's whole (holo-) carpel (-carpa). Atriplex species are typified by seeds enclosed in hard or spongey bodies consisting of two small bracts. [2] [1]

Description

Atriplex holocarpa is a small, short-lived forb measuring between 10 and 30 cm. [1] [2] A. holocarpa has small, broadly ovate silvery green leaves irregularly notched margins. [1] The leaves turn purplish on maturity. [5]

Atriplex holocarpa is monoecious with small separate male and female flowers on the same plant. [5] The male flowers are found in small clusters in the upper axils and the female flowers are in the lower axils. The fruits are globular pear shaped, from greenish-white through to reddish in colour. [2] The fruits are membranous with net-veined or crinkled and between 6 and 12 mm long [2] A. holocarpa and A. spongiosa are often found growing together. [6] A. holocarpa is differentiated from A. spongiosa in that A. spongiosa has smaller fruiting bodies (4-6mm long) and none or very short leaf stalks while A. holocarpa's fruiting bodies are 4-12mm long and the leaves have conspicuous stalks. [7]

Taxonomy

Atriplex holocarpa is one of approximately 300 Atriplex species, [8] 61 of which are found in Australia. [4] Atriplex species are part of the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae.

Range and habitat

Atriplex holocarpa is an Australian saltbush species [9] found in all states except Tasmania. [10] A. holocarpa is found in arid inland areas of southwestern Queensland, western New South Wales, and northwestern Victoria through to southern Western Australia, often on floodplains or sandy flats. [11] "A. holocarpa" is a halophyte and is very tolerant of saline conditions. They survive in saline drainages and saline rocky hills, but never on sand. A. holocarpa can be sown on saline tailings dams and saline waste dump slopes. [5] Dry temperate flora was already established in Australia 60-70 million years ago when Australia was still connected to the Antarctic southern continent, [12] and ancient elements of arid flora include the halophyte saltbushes of Chenopodiaceae including Atriplex spp. that have no close relatives in wetter parts of the country. [13] A. holocarpa germinates readily in pits created by foraging desert animals such as bilbies, echidnas, bettongs and goannas, as well introduced burrowing animals. [14]

Ecology

Atriplex holocarpa lives in arid, temperate parts of Australia. Emus eat leaves of the plant in summer months [15] but in the main most animals find A. holocarpa unpalatable and only eat it when forced. [5] The presence of this little forb is indicative of poor rangeland conditions [5] with A. holocarpa numbers increasing as grazing pressure increases. [16] due to their general unpalatability. [5]

After setting seed, the seedcase of A. holocarpa develops a lemon-shaped or globular spongy mass around the seed. At maturity the seed cases turn blackish and fall to the ground [5] A. holocarpa is very tolerant of saline conditions and can be used to help colonise saline waste dumps. [5] Salts are extruded through the plants' vesiculated hairs to prevent salt reaching toxic levels. [17] A. holocarpa have unicellular salt bladders on both surfaces of their leaves that concentrate salt above the saturation point of NaCl and release to the exterior via the vesiculated hairs. [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>Atriplex</i> genus of flowering plant

Atriplex is a plant genus of 250–300 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache. It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae s.l.. The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments. The generic name originated in Latin and was applied by Pliny the Elder to the edible oraches. The name saltbush derives from the fact that the plants retain salt in their leaves; they are able to grow in areas affected by soil salination.

<i>Atriplex amnicola</i> Species of flowering plant

Atriplex amnicola, commonly known as river saltbush or swamp saltbush, is a species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it is native to the floodplains of the Murchison and Gascoyne Rivers.

<i>Halimione portulacoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Halimione portulacoides or sea purslane (2n=36) is a small greyish-green shrub widely distributed in temperate Eurasia and parts of Africa.

<i>Atriplex semibaccata</i> Species of plant

Atriplex semibaccata, the Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, or creeping saltbush, is native to Australia, commonly found in coastal regions from South Australia all the way up to Cardwell in Queensland. It is a prostrate growing ground cover plant of the family Amaranthaceae that grows to around 180 cm wide, and flowers year round. Leaves small, olive to grey-green. Insignificant flowers, in small clusters in leaf axil. Flowers during summer. Fruit is flattened, diamond-shaped, orange to red. It is tolerant of saline and dry conditions making it commonly used as an animal feed source in poorer agricultural areas: it is grazed by livestock, and birds are fond of its fruits. It is also a good species for erosion control.

<i>Atriplex cinerea</i> Species of plant

Atriplex cinerea, commonly known as grey saltbush, coast saltbush, barilla or truganini, is a plant species in the family Amaranthaceae. It occurs in sheltered coastal areas and around salt lakes in the Australian states of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.

<i>Atriplex vesicaria</i> Species of plant

Atriplex vesicaria, commonly known as bladder saltbush, is a species of saltbush endemic to Australia.

<i>Atriplex patula</i> species of flowering plant

Atriplex patula is a ruderal, circumboreal species of annual herbaceous plants in the genus Atriplex naturalized in many temperate regions. Atriplex patula is a member of the family Chenopodiaceae.

<i>Extriplex californica</i> Species of aquatic plant

Extriplex californica is a plant species known by the common name California saltbush or California orache. Formerly, it was included in genus Atriplex. It is native to coastal California and Baja California, where it grows in areas with saline soils, such as beaches and salt marshes.

<i>Atriplex coronata</i> Species of flowering plant

Atriplex coronata is a species of saltbush known by the common name crownscale. It is endemic to California.

Extriplex joaquinana is a species known by the common name San Joaquin saltbush. It was formerly included in genus Atriplex.

<i>Atriplex nummularia</i> Species of plant

Atriplex nummularia is a species of saltbush from the family Amaranthaceae and is a large woody shrub known commonly as oldman saltbush. A. nummularia is native to Australia and occurs in each of the mainland states, thriving in arid and semi-arid inland regions.

Atriplex spinifera is a species of saltbush, known by the common names spiny saltbush and spinescale saltbush.

<i>Atriplex watsonii</i> Species of aquatic plant

Atriplex watsonii is a species of saltbush known by the common name Watson's saltbush, or Watson's orach. It is native to the coastline of California and Baja California, where it grows in coastal areas with saline soils, such as salt marshes and beach scrub, with other halophytes such as saltgrass. It extends inland in the Los Angeles Basin, and along the Santa Ana River.

<i>Suaeda fruticosa</i> Species of plant

Suaeda fruticosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a small shrub, with very variable appearance over its wide range. It is a halophyte, and occurs in arid and semi-arid saltflats, salt marshes and similar habitats.

<i>Halimione</i> Genus of flowering plants

Halimione is a plant genus from the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It is a sister genus of Atriplex and has sometimes been included in this genus.

<i>Extriplex</i> Genus of flowering plants

Extriplex is a plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It has been described in 2010 and comprises two species, that were formerly included in genus Atriplex. They are restricted to the California Floristic Province.

<i>Stutzia</i>

Stutzia is a plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It was described in 2010, replacing the illegitimate name Endolepis. It comprises two species, that have also been included in the genus Atriplex.

Proatriplex is a monotypic plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae, with the only species Proatriplex pleiantha. It is known by the common names Four-corners orach and Mancos shadscale. It occurs in the Navajo Basin of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

Atripliceae Tribe of flowering plants

Atripliceae are a tribe of the subfamily Chenopodioideae belonging to the plant family Amaranthaceae. Atriplex is the largest genus of the family. Species of Atripiceae are ecologically important in steppe and semi-desert climates.

<i>Dissocarpus paradoxus</i> Species of flowering plant

Dissocarpus paradoxus is a shrub species of inland Australia, also known by the common names of cannonball burr or curious saltbush.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Moore, P (2005). A guide to plants of inland Australia. Reed New Holland, ISBN   1 876334 86 X
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Cunningham, G. M., Mulhorne, W. E., Milthorpe, P. L., Leigh and J. H. (1992). Plants of Western New South Wales, Inkata Press : Melbourne and Sydney.
  3. ↑ Mueller, F (1859). Report on the plants collected during Mr. Babbage's expedition into the northwestern interior of South Australia in 1858.
  4. 1 2 Australian National Herbarium, Atriplex nummularia, https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2007/atriplex-nummularia.html
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mitchell, A. A. and Wilcox, D.G. (1988) Arid Shrubland Plants of Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press, 2nd ed
  6. ↑ Commonwealth of Australia. (1984). Flora of Australia. Bureau of Flora and Fauna, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
  7. ↑ plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au
  8. ↑ Flores, H & Davis, J. I. (2001). A cladistic analysis of atripliceae (Chenopodiaceae) based on morphological data. Journal of Torrey Botanical Society, vol. 128, iss 3.
  9. ↑ Kadereit, G., Mavrodiev, E. V., Zacharias, E. H. and Sukhorukov, A. P. (2010). Molecular phylogeny of Atripliceae (Chenopodioideae, Chenopodiaceae): Implications for systematics, biogeography, flower and fruit evolution, and the origin of C4 photosynthesis. American Journal of Botany, vol. 97, iss. 10: 1664-1687
  10. ↑ Commonwealth of Australia. (1984). Flora of Australia. Bureau of Flora and Fauna, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
  11. ↑ https://bie.ala.org.au/species/http://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2919449
  12. ↑ Carolin, R. C. (1982) A review and critique of studies on the phytogeography of arid Australia, in Barker, W. R and Greenslade, P.J.M. (1982) . Evolution of the flora and fauna of arid Australia, Peacock Publication : Frewville South Australia
  13. ↑ Keith, D. A. (2004). Ocean Shores to Desert Dunes: The natural vegetation of New South Wales and the ACT, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service & Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources.
  14. ↑ James, A. I., Eldridge, D. J., Hill, B. M.. (2009). Foraging animals create fertile patches in an Australalian desert scrubland. Ecography, vol. 32.
  15. ↑ Dunstan, H., Florentine, S. K., Calviño-Cancela, M., Westbrooke, M. E & Palmer, G. C.(2013). Dietary characteristics of Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) in semi-arid New South Wales, Australia, and dispersal and germination of ingested seeds, Austral Ornithology, 113:2
  16. ↑ Waudby, H. P. and Petit. S.(2015). Ephemeral plant indicators of livestock grazing in arid rangelands during wet conditions.The Rangeland Journal, CSIRO Publishing, 37, 323–33.0
  17. ↑ Mozafar, A. and Goodin, l.R. 1970. Vesiculated hairs: a mechanism for salt tolerance in Atriplex halimus L. Plant Physiology 45: 62-65.
  18. ↑ Rajput, P. and Sen, D. N. (1991). Annals of Arid Zone, vol 30. iss. 4.
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