Atriplex L.
Genus of complex taxonomy, due to the great variation shown by species that comprise it. In North Africa it is represented by about 25 species; the number may increase or decrease depending on the level (specific or subspecific) that the various taxa are granted. Most are annuals or herbaceous species. There are 5 species presented here with woody stems, prostrate, erect or climbing shrublets. Another 2 woody species should be mentioned, although they barely exceed 0.5 m in height. They are:
A. coriacea Forssk., subshrub 20-30(80) cm in height, similar to A. halimus, with silvery leaves on both sides, but smaller (up to 20 × 8 mm), sometimes subopposite and highly coriaceous, with fruit valves oval, ± cuneiform, fused up to halfway or slightly more, tridentate and slightly tuberculate. It grows in sandy and ± salty soils, coastal and sublittoral, from Algeria to Egypt.
A. glauca L. [Obione glauca (L.) Moq.], of smaller size, creeping subshrub, prostrate, with ascending branches, which besides its size, is differentiated from the previous species mainly by its triangular or rhomboid fruit bracteoles, with the dorsal side covered with very pronounced protuberances. In North Africa several similar species have been described, some of which, due to their similarities, have been synonymised or recombined as subspecies or varieties of A. glauca. This makes defining the area of A. glauca controversial, but it probably grows from Morocco to Egypt. One subspecies is, A. glauca subsp. mauritanica (Boiss. & Reut.) Dobignard [A. mauritanica Boiss. & Reut., A. parvifolia Lowe var. mauritanica (Boiss. & Reut.) Maire], with large leaves (15-30 × 7-10 mm) discoloured, growing in coastal areas, present in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Another subspecies is, A. glauca subsp. ifniensis (Caball.) Rivas Mart. et al. [A. ifniensis Caball., A. parvifolia Lowe], differentiated because it is not creeping and it is larger in size and has a larger number of tubercles in the valve of the fruit, present from Mauritania to the S of Morocco, as well as in Canary Islands and Madeira. Finally, A. glauca subsp. palaestina (Boiss.) Dobignard [A. palaestina Boiss, A. stylosa Viv., A. alexandrina Boiss.] is also erect or ascending and it is present in Libya and Egypt.All these species are ± common. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Only in Algeria A. coriacea is included in the List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012). In various dry or even desert areas of North Africa there are also other species of shrubs or subshrubs from this genus that have been introduced for forage: Atriplex inflata F. Muell. [A. lindleyi subsp. inflata (F. Muell.) P.G. Wilson], Atriplex nummularia Lindl., native of Australia, and A. canescens (Pursh) Nutt. native of North America.
All these species are ± common. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Only in Algeria A. coriacea is included in the List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012).
In various dry or even desert areas of North Africa there are also other species of shrubs or subshrubs from this genus that have been introduced for forage: Atriplex inflata F. Muell. [A. lindleyi subsp. inflata (F. Muell.) P.G. Wilson], Atriplex nummularia Lindl., native of Australia, and A. canescens (Pursh) Nutt. native of North America.
Franclet, A. & Le Houerou, H. N., 1971. Les Atriplex en Tunisie et en Afrique du Nord. Roma. 249 pp.
Al-Turki, T.A., Omer, S. Ghafoor, A. 2000. A synopsis of the genus Atriplex L. (Chenopodiaceae) in Saudi Arabia. Feddes Repertorium 111: 261-293.
Key to species
1 Leaves opposite Atriplex colerei
1 Leaves alternate 2
2 Fruit bracteoles membranous, papery, slightly fleshy, fused only at the base Atriplex mollis
2 Fruit bracteoles ± fleshy, coriaceous, not membranous, fused at the base or more 3
3 Fruit valves triangular, deltoid or cuneiform, angular. Plants subshrubby 4
3 Fruit valves suborbicular to ovate, with no angles. Shrubby plants more than 50 cm in height 6
4 Fruit valves transversely oval, ± cuneiform,fused halfway or a little further Atriplex coriacea
4 Fruit valves not cuneiform, fused only at the base 5
5 Fruit valves with a lobulate or dentate margin, deltoid or quadrangular,with the dorsal side slightly tuberculate Atriplex leucoclada
5 Fruit valves with entire margin, triangular or rhomboid, with the dorsal side highly tuberculate Atriplex glauca
6 Shrub up to 2.5 m in height. Bracteoles semiorbicular or reniformwith the dorsal side ± smooth Atriplex halimus
6 Shrub up to 1, 2 m in height. Bracteoles obconical to elliptical, with the dorsal side with some tubercles or smooth Atriplex farinosa
Updated by: G. Benítez & J. Molero Mesa.