Atriplex gardneri var. cuneata

(A. Nelson) S. L. Welsh

Great Basin Naturalist 44: 190. 1984.

Common names: Castle Valley saltbush
IllustratedEndemic
Basionym: Atriplex cuneata A. Nelson Bot. Gaz. 34: 357. 1902
Synonyms: Atriplex acanthocarpa var. cuneata (A. Nelson) M. E. Jones Atriplex nuttallii subsp. cuneata (A. Nelson) H. M. Hall & Clements Atriplex oblanceolata Rydberg
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 372. Mentioned on page 371, 373.

Subshrubs, dioecious or sparingly monoecious, mostly 1–4.5 × 4–20 dm. Stems decumbent. Leaves opposite to subalternate proximally, alternate distally; petiole 2–12 mm; blade grayish green, obovate to spatulate, orbiculate or oblong, 10–50 × (5–)10–25 mm, 1.5–4.5 times longer than wide, margin entire. Staminate flowers dark brown or rarely yellow, in glomerules 3-4 mm thick, borne in terminal panicles 2–11 cm. Pistillate flowers in rather leafy unbranched spikes or spicate panicles 5–23 cm. Fruiting bracteoles sessile or on stipes to 9 mm, body globose to flattened, 5–9 mm and wide, terminal tooth to 2 mm, subtended with 2–4 lateral teeth, surface densely tuberculate to smooth and free of tubercles. Seeds 2–2.5 mm wide. 2n = 18, 27, 36+.


Phenology: Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat: Saline, fine-textured substrates on Mancos Shale, and other formations of similar texture and salinity, in greasewood and mat-atriplex communities
Elevation: 1200-2200 m

Discussion

A series of at least partially stabilized introgressants between Atriplex gardneri var. cuneata and var. utahensis in Carbon County form the basis of A. cuneata subsp. introgressa C. A. Hanson (type from Wellington, Hanson 346, 1961, holotype BRY!). The hybrids between var. cuneata and A. confertifolia have been described as A. neomexicana Standley; they occur where the ranges of the taxa overlap. The Castle Valley saltbush also forms apparent hybrids with A. canescens.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
Stanley L. Welsh +
(A. Nelson) S. L. Welsh +
Atriplex cuneata +
Castle Valley saltbush +
Colo. +, N.Mex. +  and Utah. +
1200-2200 m +
Saline, fine-textured substrates on Mancos Shale, and other formations of similar texture and salinity, in greasewood and mat-atriplex communities +
Flowering spring–fall. +
Great Basin Naturalist +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
Atriplex acanthocarpa var. cuneata +, Atriplex nuttallii subsp. cuneata +  and Atriplex oblanceolata +
Atriplex gardneri var. cuneata +
Atriplex gardneri +
variety +