''Atriplex argentea'' is a species of

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to '' Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

known by the common names silverscale saltbush and silver orache.USDA Plants Profile: ''Atriplex argentea''
/ref>Flora of North America
/ref> 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 Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by t ...

.Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Atriplex argentea''
/ref>

Description

''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. The leaves are triangular to roughly oval in shape and 1 to 4 centimeters long. The stems and leaves are coated in gray scales. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s are rough clusters of tiny flowers, with male and female flowers in separate clusters.

Uses

Among the

Zuni people The Zuni ( zun, A:shiwi; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni are a Federally recognized tribe and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Littl ...

, a poultice of chewed root is applied to sores and rashes. An infusion of the root is also taken for stomachache.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

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Atriplex argentea'' (silver saltweed, silverscale saltbush)Jepson Manual treatment for ''Atriplex argentea''''Atriplex argentea'' — UC Photo gallery
argentea Halophytes Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Western United States Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of the United States Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Mojave Desert Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{medicinal-plant-stub