Jump to content

Atriplex argentea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Atriplex argentea

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Atriplex
Species:
A. argentea
Binomial name
Atriplex argentea

Atriplex argentea is a species of saltbush known by the common names silverscale saltbush and silver orache.[1][2] It is native to western North America from southern Canada to northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat, generally on saline soils.[2][3]

Description

[edit]

Atriplex argentea is an annual herb producing branching stems which spread out low to the ground or reach erect to maximum heights approaching 80 centimeters.[3] The leaves are triangular to roughly oval in shape and 1 to 4 centimeters long.[3] The stems and leaves are coated in gray scales.[2][3]

The inflorescences are rough clusters of tiny flowers, with male and female flowers in separate clusters.[2]

Uses

[edit]

Among the Zuni people, a poultice of chewed root is applied to sores and rashes. An infusion of the root is also taken for stomachache.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ USDA Plants Profile: Atriplex argentea
  2. ^ a b c d Flora of North America
  3. ^ a b c d Jepson Manual Treatment - Atriplex argentea
  4. ^ Camazine, Scott and Robert A. Bye 1980 A Study Of The Medical Ethnobotany Of The Zuni Indians of New Mexico. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2:365-388, p.384
[edit]