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Atriplex muelleri

Benth. (1870)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Amaranthaceae Genus: Atriplex

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Spreading to erect herb branching from base, to 30 cm high.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades broadly obovoid. Apex rounded. Base cuneate and passing into petiole ½ length of lamina, in all 15–30 mm long. Upper surfaces glabrescent; lower surfaces scaly; blades thin. Margins undulate to sinuately lobed.

Flowers: Flowers small, clustered, the clusters axillary. Male flowers clustered in terminal axils, without bracts or bracteoles, perianth deeply 5-lobed. Stamens 5, filaments linear; pistillode minute or absent.. Female flowers in scattered axillary clusters; perianth absent and replaced by a pair of bracteoles which enlarge and cover the fruit; staminodes absent; stigmas 2, slender.

Fruit: Fruiting bracteoles sessile or almost so; bluntly deltoid to circular; swollen; hard; smooth; c. 3 mm long and wide at apex; connate except at the rounded apex; valves herbaceous; forming a narrow denticulate margin around apex of bracteole; appendages absent. Seeds circular; radicle lateral; erect.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

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Uses and Culture

USES

  • Yes

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

Kaua'i Potentially naturalizing
O'ahu Naturalized
Molokai Potentially Naturalizing
Lana'i Potentially naturalizing
Maui Naturalized
Hawai'i Potentially Naturalizing

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Fl. Austral. 5: 175 (1870)

Other References

Imada & Kennedy 2020:70 (NEWNAT/O, M, DESCR, KEY); Ross & Faccenda 2023a:39 (O, RANGE EXT [now widespread in leeward areas]); Faccenda & Sprague 2024:144 (L, Mo?, H? [observed but no spm.])

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Atriplex muelleri Kanaha, in sand on beach E of treatment plant and west of drainage Naturalized small shrub, patchy in this area. Associated vegetation: Chenopodium oahuense, Ipomoea pes-caprae, Cocos nucifera, Tournefortia argentea, Chenopodium murale. Preserved_Specimen Naturalized small shrub, patchy in this area. Starr, F. 3251 Maui BISH 2000-03-25
2 Atriplex muelleri Wheeler Army Airfield. Enter via Lyman Gate, turn right when able and wrap around until parallel with Kunia Road; drive between buildings and fence/hwy; go through chain gate; just past is a dirt pile. Soil pile contained several plants not frequently found on Wheeler Base. No canopy directly above. Other taxa in area include Spathodea campanulata, Leucaena leucocephala, Macaranga tanarius, Aleurites moluccana, Ficus spp. Understory: various grasses and herbs, mowed into a lawn: Urochloa maxima, Boerhavia coccinea, Chloris barbata, C. gayana. Preserved_Specimen Sprawling shrub. Leaves somewhat fleshy, pubescent, with irregular margins. Flowers small, inconspicuous. Fruit round-oval, with toothed fringe on upper, long edge; distinctive shape. Five plants seen; seedlings present. Adventive. Could be a different Atriplex? Beachy, J. 461 Oahu BISH 2017-02-13
3 Atriplex muelleri Ka Iwi Shoreline Trail Disturbed coastal strand. Growing along a southeast facing sea bluff in sandy soil with Jacquemontia sandwicensis, Sporobolus pyramidatus, Scaevola taccada, and Batis martima. Abundant and weedy along the Ka Iwi Shoreline Trail. Preserved_Specimen Subshrub, ca 1.2 meter diameter, 4.5 dm tall; stems prostrate to ascending; fruiting bracts swollen, rounded apex obtuse with all teach +/- equal in length. Ross, M.C. 1805 Oahu BISH 2021-01-28
4 Atriplex muelleri Kaumalapau Harbor, Young Brothers shipping terminal. WGS84 coordinates: Lat. 20.787374, Long. -156.991107 Open, partially shaded area next to structure, dry. About 50 plants seen, only at this spot. Preserved_Specimen Faccenda, K. 3120 Lanai BISH 2023-06-19
5 Atriplex muelleri Pouhala Marsh, Waipahu Above water mark and salt line in drier red soil. Full sun. Preserved_Specimen Mound, semi-erect subshrub, goosefoot leaves, bluish green in color, glaborous. Fruits along stems, small light tan incolor, roundish, fan shaped. Crago, L.M. 2005027 Oahu BISH 2005-01-24
6 Atriplex muelleri Upper Makakilo, adjacent to developed subdivision at end of Pueonani Street Curbside in dry habitat with assorted herbaceous weeds:, Atriplex semibaccata, Tridax procumbens, Melinis repens, Chamaecrista nictitans, Chloris barbata, Emilia fosbergii, Indigofera hendecaphylla. Preserved_Specimen Common herbaceous weed. Imada, C. 200425 Oahu BISH 2004-03-09
7 Atriplex muelleri Ka'ena Point Dry sand Preserved_Specimen Common Faccenda, K. 1731 Oahu BISH 2021-02-14
8 Atriplex muelleri Waimea, Mana Plains Forest Reserve, near small pull-off from main road next to yellow gate Found in many areas along the berm between the canal and wetland. Sandy compacted soils of berm for artificial wetlands. Scaevola taccada, sida fallax, Stachytarpheta sp., Pluchea sp., Sporobolus sp., Cenchrus sp., Batis maritima, Crotolaria sp. Preserved_Specimen Swollen bracteoles more rounded than dentate, leaf apex obtuse all leaf teeth equal in length, leaf apices truncate J. Jablonski 109 Kauai BISH 2024-04-17
9 Atriplex muelleri Former Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Ordy Pond area. Growing in open sandy substrate at Ordy Pond, along with Spergularia, Pluchea, Sesuvium, Prosopis pallida. Preserved_Specimen Low groundcover. BISH staff 114 Oahu BISH 2021-04-17
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