Atriplex nummularia

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Oldman saltbush
Atriplex nummularia.JPG
Atriplex nummularia - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Atriplex
Species:
A. nummularia
Binomial name
Atriplex nummularia
Atriplex nummularia - Australian distribution map.jpg
Occurrence data ALA [1]
Synonyms

Atriplex johnstoni

Atriplex nummularia is a species of saltbush from the family Amaranthaceae [2] and is a large woody shrub known commonly as oldman saltbush. [3] A. nummularia is native to Australia and occurs in each of the mainland states, thriving in arid and semi-arid inland regions. [4]

Contents

Description

Atriplex nummularia is a perennial halophyte species [2] that is extremely hardy, thriving in particularly harsh environments such as saline and alkaline lowlands. [5] [6] A. nummularia is the largest species of Australian saltbush, typically growing 2–4m wide and up to 3m tall [7] in either a sprawling or erect arrangement. [8]

It develops a lattice of woody stems which branch from or close to ground level [2] and utilises a taproot with a subsequent root system that is moderate to deep. [3] It is an evergreen plant, [3] with simple alternate leaves that often have dull teeth and are irregular in shape, varying between circular and triangular. [9] The leaves range between 1–5 cm long and have a silvery-grey coating on both sides with a scaly texture. [4] [10]

Although hermaphroditic variations with bisexual flowers have been reported [11] this species is generally regarded as dioecious, with male and female flowers occurring on separate plants. [12] The male flowers are at the ends of branches in disjunct beads, [2] whereas the female flowers grow along panicles in dense clusters typically around 20 cm in length. [5] After the female flower has been fertilised, leafy bracts become enlarged and surround the developing seed. [3] [7]

The seeds themselves are typically round with a thick, woody seed coat and an overall reddish-brown appearance. [9] Attached only at the base, the fruiting bracteoles are fan shaped and generally grow between 0.5–1 cm wide. [8]

Taxonomy and naming

Atriplex nummularia was first described as a species by John Lindley in 1848. [10] It belongs to the genus Atriplex [2] which comprises 298–377 species commonly referred to as a saltbush. [3] A. nummularia is originally from the family Chenopodioideae which contains approximately 165 genera and 2040 species. [2] More recently, this was included in Amaranthaceae (sensu lato). through the introduction of the APG II system in 2003. [2]

The genus name Atriplex is a Latin word meaning "saltbush" [13] : 111  and the specific epithet (nummularia) is derived from the Latin word nummus meaning "coin", [13] : 532  referring to the circular shape of the leaves. [3]

Its Noongar names are purngep, pining, and binga. [14]

Distribution and habitat

Originally a native Australian plant, Atriplex nummularia naturally occurs New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. It usually occurs on saline, low-lying clay soils such as floodplains, but is highly adaptable and can occur in most soils. [15]

Atriplex nummularia also thrives in temperate and sub-tropical regions of the world, [3] occurring throughout Taiwan and many parts of Oceania. [16] It has also been introduced to most Middle-Eastern and North African countries, as well as South Africa, Mexico, Chile, Spain and the USA. [4] A. nummularia is typically found in lowland areas such as floodplains in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, [17] favouring saline clay soils. [9]

Behavioural

The name saltbush fittingly describes a function of the species in which they retain salt in their leaves absorbed with water through osmosis. [6] [4] Optimal growth is achieved in places where the mean annual temperature is between 15–24 °C [18] and where rainfall is between 230–650mm per annum, [3] though conditions outside this range may be tolerated once the plant has become well established. [9] A. nummularia primarily grows on alluvial or limestone soils [6] and while extremely tolerant of both saline and alkaline conditions, [12] it does not cope in an acidic environment. [5] The species is able to grow in soils ranging from clays to sand, [9] but is best suited to well-drained soils that have a deep profile. [3]

Though a saline environment deters most pests [19] A. nummularia is not totally immune. The lucerne flea (Sminthurus viridis) and red-legged earth mite (Halotydeus destructor) are the most common [4] and can infest the plant, causing significant damage that results in the malformation of new growth. [6] It may also become sporadically attacked by a native saltbush scale, usually managed naturally through environmental processes. [20] A. nummularia is often used as a food source for the larvae of some species including Lepidoptera [5] and provide a habitat for arthropods including arachnids such as Phidippus californicus. [10]

Reproduction and dispersal

A. nummularia seeds Atriplexnummularia.jpg
A. nummularia seeds

Atriplex nummularia generally produces small wind-pollinated flowers throughout the winter months (June–August), although this may vary according to seasonal temperature fluctuations. [3] Seed production is often subject to immense variation with saltbush fruit commonly containing no seeds. [21] The seeds that do develop typically mature during the months of spring (September–November). [9]

Uses

Atriplex nummularia is among the most commonly utilised forage shrubs in Australia [7] and has become widely cultivated for stock fodder. [22] This is primarily a result of its propensity to survive in harsh environments subject to flooding, drought and high levels of salinity, [19] as well as being palatable to livestock due to the elevated mineral content of the plant. [16]

The seeds from the plant are a traditional food source for many Australian Aboriginal communities, both consuming them on their own and as a component of meals. [3] A. nummularia is also used as a windbreak, stock shade, crop shelter-belt, [9] screen or hedge, [4] firebreak, [5] erosion control and soil binder particularly for stabilising sand dunes [6] as well as rehabilitating eroded or scorched soils. [20]

Grubs found in the roots were eaten either raw or roasted by Noongar people, and the leaves and roots were mashed and boiled with water, to bathe skin sores wounds and burns, [14] while early settlers reportedly drank the same decoction to treat scurvy. [23]

Conservation actions

Atriplex nummularia occurs in several protected areas, including the following in New South Wales: [24]

Related Research Articles

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

Atriplex is a plant genus of about 250 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>Atriplex semibaccata</i> Species of plant

Atriplex semibaccata, commonly known as Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, or creeping saltbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a perennial herb native to Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, but has been introduced into other states and to overseas countries. It flowers and fruits in spring, and propagates from seed when the fruit splits open. This species of saltbush is adapted to inconsistent rainfall, temperature and humidity extremes and to poor soil. It is used for rehabilitation, medicine, as a cover crop and for fodder. Its introduction to other countries has had an environmental and economic impact on them.

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

Atriplex halimus is a species of fodder shrub in the family Amaranthaceae.

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

Atriplex confertifolia, the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico.

<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 flowering plant of the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to arid and semi-arid inland regions of Australia. It is an upright or sprawling shrub with scaly leaves and separate male and female plants, the fruit often with a bladder-like appendage.

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

Atriplex patula is a ruderal, circumboreal species of annual herbaceous plant in the genus Atriplex naturalized in many temperate regions.

<i>Enchylaena tomentosa</i> Species of plant

Enchylaena tomentosa, commonly known as barrier saltbush or ruby saltbush, is a small native shrub of Australia.

<i>Atriplex lentiformis</i> Species of bush

Atriplex lentiformis is a species of saltbush.

<i>Chenopodium curvispicatum</i> Species of plant

Chenopodium curvispicatum is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae, endemic to Australia.

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

Atriplex gardneri is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name Gardner's saltbush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Saskatchewan in Canada south to Nevada and New Mexico in the United States. The specific epithet of the species, gardneri, is misnamed after its first collector, Alexander Gordon. The naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon was under the impression that Gordon's last name was Gardner.

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

Atriplex nuttallii, also known as Nuttall's saltbush, is native to central and western North America. It has been treated by some botanists as a synonym of Atriplex canescens.

<i>Stutzia</i> Genus of plants

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.

<i>Chenopodium spinescens</i> Species of plant

Chenopodium spinescens is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to all mainland states and territories of Australia where it is known as Rhagodia spinescens.

<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.

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

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

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

Atriplex stipitata, commonly known as mallee saltbush, bitter saltbush and kidney saltbush, is a species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, found in all mainland states of Australia.

<i>Atriplex sturtii</i> Australian shrub

Atriplex sturtii, commonly known as saltbush, is an endangered species within the widespread genus Atriplex.A. sturtii is a native Australian shrub and grows in the Channel Country bioregion, also referred to as 'Corner Country'.

<i>Atriplex angulata</i> Species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae

Atriplex angulata, commonly known as fan saltbush or angular saltbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is an annual to short-lived perennial subshrub, native to Australia, distributed throughout drier parts of the mainland.

References

  1. ↑ Atlas of Living Australia (2016-07-29). "Australian distribution map of Oldman Saltbush".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Iamonico, Duilio (2012-07-01). "Studies on the Genus Atriplex L. (Amaranthaceae) in Italy. II. Lectotypification of Atriplex Elongata Guss". Candollea. 67 (1): 181–185. doi:10.15553/c2012v671a18. ISSN   0373-2967. S2CID   85155554.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Moore, Philip (2005). A guide to plants of inland Australia. Reed New Holland. ISBN   9781876334864. OCLC   224505970.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Notes on trees and shrubs in arid and semi-arid regions – Programme on the Ecological Management of Air and Semi-arid Rangelands in Africa and the Near and Middle East of. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1983. ISBN   9789251013540. OCLC   11071774.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Seddon, Julian; Doyle, Stuart; Bourne, Mark; Maccallum, Richard; Briggs, Sue (2009). "Biodiversity benefits of alley farming with old man saltbush in central western New South Wales". Animal Production Science. 49 (10): 860–868. doi:10.1071/ea08280.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Hodgkinson, Harmon S. (1987). "Relationship of Saltbush Species to Soil Chemical Properties". Journal of Range Management. 40 (1): 23–26. doi:10.2307/3899355. hdl: 10150/645386 . JSTOR   3899355.
  7. 1 2 3 Bauder, J. W.; Browning, L. S.; Phelps, S. D.; Kirkpatrick, A. D. (2008-07-01). "Biomass Production, Forage Quality, and Cation Uptake of Quail Bush, Four‐Wing Saltbush, and Seaside Barley irrigated with Moderately Saline–Sodic Water". Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 39 (13–14): 2009–2031. doi:10.1080/00103620802134842. ISSN   0010-3624. S2CID   98774265.
  8. 1 2 Sampson, Jane F.; Byrne, Margaret (2012-01-01). "Genetic diversity and multiple origins of polyploid Atriplex nummularia Lindl. (Chenopodiaceae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 105 (1): 218–230. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01787.x . ISSN   0024-4066.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strain, Boyd R. (1981-10-01). "Physiological Ecology of Atriplex". Ecology. 62 (5): 1403. doi:10.2307/1937309. ISSN   1939-9170. JSTOR   1937309.
  10. 1 2 3 Gustafsson, Mats (1976). Evolutionary trends in the Atriplex prostrata group of Scandinavia. Lund: Lund Botanical Society and the Dept. of Plant Taxonomy, University of Lund.
  11. ↑ Sadeghi, Hossein; Delaviz, Mohammad (June 2016). "Response of three new Atriplex species (Atriplex spp.) to drought and its recovery". Acta Ecologica Sinica. 36 (3): 212–217. doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2016.04.010.
  12. 1 2 El-Shatnawi, M. K. J.; Mohawesh, Y. M. (2000-03-01). "Seasonal chemical composition of saltbush in semiarid grasslands in Jordan". Rangeland Ecology & Management / Journal of Range Management Archives. 53 (2): 211–214. doi: 10.2458/azu_jrm_v53i2_el-shatnawi . hdl: 10150/643750 . ISSN   1550-7424.
  13. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  14. 1 2 Hansen, V; Horsfall, J. (2016). Noongar Bush Medicine Medicinal plants of the south-west of Western Australia. UWA Publishing, Crawley WA. pp. 126–127. ISBN   9781742589060.
  15. ↑ "Atriplex nummularia". Australian National Herbarium. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  16. 1 2 Moreno, Greicy Mitzi Bezerra; Borba, Hirasilva; Araújo, Gherman Garcia Leal de; Voltolini, Tadeu Vinhas; Moraes, Salete Alves de; Sobrinho, Américo Garcia da Silva; Neto, Oscar Boaventura; Júnior, Dorgival Morais de Lima; Cirne, Luis Gabriel Alves (2017-03-02). "Digestibility and performance of lambs fed diets containing old man saltbush hay". Semina: Ciências Agrárias. 38 (1): 455–466. doi: 10.5433/1679-0359.2017v38n1p455 . ISSN   1679-0359.
  17. ↑ Kramer, Paul J. (1982-03-01). "Saltbush Physiology and Ecology". BioScience. 32 (3): 215. doi:10.2307/1308952. ISSN   0006-3568. JSTOR   1308952.
  18. ↑ Hassine, Abir Ben; Lutts, Stanley (2010-11-15). "Differential responses of saltbush Atriplex halimus L. exposed to salinity and water stress in relation to senescing hormones abscisic acid and ethylene". Journal of Plant Physiology. 167 (17): 1448–1456. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2010.05.017. PMID   20869134.
  19. 1 2 Wallace, A.; Romney, E. M.; Mueller, R. T. (1982). "Sodium Relations in Desert Plants". Soil Science. 134 (1): 65–68. doi:10.1097/00010694-198207000-00012. S2CID   98696053.
  20. 1 2 Jones, Richard (1979). The biology of Atriplex. Canberra: CSIRO.
  21. ↑ Hacker, R (2004). Working with Catchment Management Boards to expand the use of deep rooted perennials. Orange, NSW: Dept. of Primary Industries.
  22. ↑ Biodiversity value of saltbush (Atriplex nummularia) plantings in mixed farming landscapes of the southern Mallee, South Australia. Dept. of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. 2009. ISBN   9781921528620. OCLC   589809679.
  23. ↑ Lassak, E.; McCarthy, T. (2001). Australian Medicinal Plants. Sydney: New Holland.
  24. ↑ "Saltbush". New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
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