Atriplex lentiformis lentiformis

Identification

Description

A large evergreen shrub to 8 ft.. Native in coastal Ca. to 100 miles inland. Very alkali tolerant. A plant for wind breaks, borders, and range management. Not a beautiful plant (A. canescens looks better) but will survive on 5-10 inches of rainfall in full sun and poor soil. All of the plant is edible, young shoots suitable for greens. Indians used for salty taste. Quail and other birds use seeds for food,foliage for habitat. Cage the plant until the plants are above rabbit height. (Note: The Atriplexes from arid enviroments have a C4 photosynthetic pathway which is generally a more efficient way for the plant to conserve water, and photosynthesize under the climatic conditions where they occur. They will defoliate under extreme drought. The salt they accumulate in their leaves allows them to extract water from the soil other plants cannot.They need to be under some form of water stress, either drought, salt, or salt spray.(Sharma) The Atriplex species tolerate and remove the excess salts by bladders in their leaves that act as salt sinks, keeping the salt from the plant cells. As the old leaves are shed or eaten the salt is removed from the plant. Atriplex confertiflora can handle 30 ppm Boron in solution.(Most plants burn out at 1-5 ppm.) (Schirmer&Breckle;))