Weed Information: Atriplex patula (orach, spreading)
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Atriplex patula (orach, spreading)

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Description

The fruit bracts broadly triangular, 3-6 mm long and not tuberculate on the back. The leaves linear to ovate.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow-green
  • Green
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Axillary racemes
  • Panicle
  • Terminal spike
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 4 sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)
Number of Styles
  • Styles lacking (male flowers only)
  • 2 styles
Number of Stamens
  • stamens lacking (female flowers only)
  • 5 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
  • 1 carpel
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Utricle
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
  • Opposite
  • Opposite below, alternate above
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Palmate
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
  • Linear or filiform
  • Oval
  • Ovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Scurfy (mealy)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
  • Arid
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Ridged
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • Nevada
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Newfoundland
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon
  • Nunavut
  • Northwest Territory
Other
  • District of Columbia
  • St. Pierre and Miquelon
  • Labrador
  • Greenland

  • The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol67Pg1069
  • Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 26
  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 83
  • Identification Guide to the Weeds of Quebec, 1999 (ISBN# 2-89457-174-7) See page: 36
  • Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 63
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 143
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 250
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 173
  • Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 34
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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