Atriplex mollis Desf.
Eng.: Orache. Spa.: Armuelle. Fre.: Arroche tendre. Ara.: Ktaf, aramass, gatf, zell, djell.
Evergreen shrublet, monoecious, up to 70 cm in height, stems erect, woody, bark whitish and fissured. Young branches and superior branchlets herbaceous, white-silvery, with tiny hairs that give the appearance of being covered by a fine granular powder. Leaves (10-22 × 3-8 mm) alternate, ± lanceolate, obtuse, with entire margin, subsessile, fleshy. Flower very small, yellow, arranged in paniculiform groups where the male flowers are arranged towards the top and the female flowers towards the bottom. Fruit bracteoles slightly fused, almost free, membranous, papery, ± orbicular, generally with an entire margin, but often emarginate at the tip and with a smooth dorsal side, without tubercles. Seed an ovoid achene, compressed, surface reticulate with a strong thickening.
Flowering:
June to November.
Fruiting:
July to December.
Habitat:
Sandy and rocky-sandy soils, always somewhat saline, in maritime regions and also further inland.
Distribution:
Endemic to North Africa. In coastal and subcoastal regions, from Biskraa-Oued Rhir (Algeria) to the Gulf of Bomba (NE Libya). Further inland it is found in the Saharan Tunisia and almost all of western Libya.
Conservation status:
It is a rare species but in principle it is not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In Algeria it is included in the List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012). In Tunisia it is included in its List of native species that are rare and threatened with extinction (Order of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, 19-July-2006).