Atriplex patula
Common names
common orach, spear orach
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Similar taxa
Stem smooth, slender, 0.3 to 1.2 m long, with numerous spreading branches. Leaves petioled, fleshy, triangular, lanceolate or linear, mostly opposite, usually mealy, especially on lower surface. Flowers small without petals; male and female flowers borne separately on the same plant in scattered spikes at ends of branches and in axils of upper leaves. (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Amaranthaceae
Ecology
Year naturalised
1853
Origin
Europe, W. Asia
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds round, grey, bourne between 2 triangular green bracts (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Other information
Etymology
atriplex: From an ancient Latin name whose derivation is uncertain, but a possible explanation is the name comes from the Greek a- ‘without’ and traphein ‘nourishment’ because many of these species grow in arid desert soils
patula: Spreading
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
ATRPAT