**Atriplex semibaccata R.Br. (Chenopodiaceae)**

**Australian Saltbush, Creeping Saltbush**

**Description**. Plants monoecious; perennial, suffrutescent herbs from
a deep woody taproot or subshrubs, often mounded; stems 20-150 cm long,
prostrate to spreading, branches many, 30-100 cm long. Leaves alternate,
subsessile; blades 1-3.5 cm long, 0.2-1 cm wide, elliptic to narrowly
ovate, obovate, or oblong, upper surface grayish green, sparsely
mealy-puberulent, becoming glabrous, lower surface densely
mealy-puberulent, bases tapered to attenuate, margins remotely and
irregularly toothed or entire, apices obtuse. Flowers in axillary
clusters, staminate ones in terminal spikes or in axillary clusters,
pistillate ones axillary, each subtended by 2 bracts, bracts 4-6 mm long
and wide, fused to the middle, becoming thick and fleshy in fruit,
reddish-tinged to bright red, apices toothed, sometimes with lateral
teeth. Seeds of two kinds, brown ones ca. 2 mm long, black ones ca. 1.5
mm long. In California, flowering from April to December. (Abrams 1944,
Jepson 1925, Taylor and Wilken 1993, Munz 1959, Wagner et al. 1990,
Welsh 1984, Wilson 1984).

**Geographic distribution**. A native of southern Australia (Chapman
1991, Wilson 1984), it has been introduced into Africa, Tasmania, Chile,
Hawaii, the Canary Islands, and the southwestern United States (Abrams
1944, Cepeda-Pizarro 1993, De Villiers et al. 1994, 1997, Khair 1994,
Munz 1959, Reed 1969, Valido and Nogales 1994, Wagner et al. 1990,
Warren and Aschmann 1993).

Australian saltbush was first introduced into southern California
sometime shortly before the end of the 19th century (Eastwood 1901,
Jepson 1914, 1925, Robbins 1940). Naturalized populations of *Atriplex
semibaccata* occur on all California Channel Islands (Junak et al.
1997), the San Francisco Bay area, and throughout coastal California
from San Luis Obispo to San Diego counties and in the southern Central
Valley (Anonymous 1998).

**Ecological distribution**. In its native range, Australian saltbush
occurs in heavy, saline soils of various woodlands (Wilson 1984). In
naturalized areas it occurs on similar substrates, which have been
heavily grazed or disturbed (Abrams 1944, Halvorson 1988, Munz 1959,
Taylor and Wilken 1993, Wilson 1984).

.

**Reproductive and vegetative biology**. Although the pollination
biology of Australian saltbush has apparently not been studied, some
monoecious species of *Atriplex* are self-compatible, but generally
wind-pollinated (Proctor et al. 1996). Each pistillate flower produces a
single seed. The fleshy bracts of Australian saltbush are notably fleshy
and attractive to frugivores, which may play an important role in its
dispersal. Seeds have been reported as a dietary constituent in both
lizards on the Canary Islands and foxes on Santa Cruz Island, California
(Valido and Nogales 1994, Crooks, 1994). Seed germination can take place
on relatively high saline soils, which provides a competitive advantage
when compared to other species (De Villiers et al. 1994). It was
reported to be one of the first species to colonize eroded land surfaces
on Santa Barbara Island (Halvorson et al. 1988).

**Weed status**. Australian saltbush is not considered a noxious weed in
agricultural practice, at least at a global level (not listed by Holm et
al. 1977), but is considered a regional noxious weed by the State Dept.
of Food and Agriculture (Anonymous 1996). Lorenzi and Jeffery (1987) did
not list it as a weed in the United States. Judging from some
literature, Australian saltbush is one of several preferred plants for
reclamation of mine wastes (De Villiers et al. 1994, 1997), for
sesquestering and subsequent removal of toxic metals (e.g., Selenium;
Banuelos 1996, Banuelos and Meek 1990), for use as a forage plant on
arid, alkaline soils (Khair 1994), and for revegetating overgrazed
rangelands (Warren and Aschmann 1993. It was introduced as a range
forage crop on saline soils in the Great Plains as early as 1929
(Headden 1929). Under such conditions it has been judged to be a
desirable alien species (De Villiers et al. 1994, 1995, 1997, Warren and
Aschmann 1993).

**Microbial and insect pathogens.** No literature was found that
reported Australian saltbush as a host of detrimental fungal or insect
pathogens.

**Herbicide control.** No literature pertinent to herbicide treatment
was found.

**Other control measures**. No literature was found that reported other
control methods for Australian saltbush.

**Literature Cited**

Abrams, L. 1944. Illustrated flora of the Pacific states. Volume 2.
Polygonaceae to Krameriaceae. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
635 pp.

Anonymous. 1996. Exotic pest plants of greatest ecological concern in
California as of August 1996. California Exotic Pest Plant Council. 8
pp.

Anonymous. 1998. California county flora database version 2, Santa
Barbara Botanic Garden and USDA National Plants Data Center, Santa
Barbara and New Orleans. URL = plants.usda.gov

Banuelos, G. 1996. Managing high levels of boron and selenium with trace
element accumulator crops. Journal of Environmental Science and Health.
Part A. Environmental science and engineering & toxic and hazardous
substance control. A31: 1179-1196.

Banuelos, G. and D. Meek. 1990. Accumulation of selenium in plants grown
on selenium-treated soil. Journal of Environmental Quality. 19: 772-777.

Chapman, A. 1991. Australian Plant Name Index. A-C. Australian
Biological Resources Study, Canberra. 897 pp.

Crooks, K. 1994. Comparative ecology of the island spotted skunk and the
island fox of Santa Cruz Island, California. Unpublished M.S. thesis,
University of California, Davis.

De Villiers, A , M. Van Rooyen, G. Theron, and H. Van De Venter. 1994.
Germination of three Namaqualand pioneer species, as influenced by
salinity, temperature and light. Seed Science and Technology. 22:
427-433.

De Villiers, A., M. Van Royen, G. Theron, and A. Claasens. 1995. The
effect of leaching and irrigation on the growth of Atriplex semibaccata.
Land Degradation & Rehabilitation. 6: 125- 131.

De Villiers, A., M. Van Rooyen, G. Theron, and A. Claassens 1997.
Tolerance of six namaqualand pioneer species to saline soil conditions.
South African Journal of Plant and Soil, 14: 38-42.

Eastwood, A. 1901. *Atriplex semibaccata* R.Br. in Marin County. Zoe 5:
136-137.

Halvorson, W., D. Fenn, and W. Allardice. 1988. Soils and vegetation of
Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA.
Environmental Management. 12: 109-118.

Headden, W. 1929. The Australian saltbush : its composition and
digestibility.

Colorado Agricultural College, Colorado Experiment Station. 27 pp.

Holm, L., D. Plucknett, J. Pancho, and J. Herberger. 1977. The world's
worst weeds: distribution and ecology. University Press of Hawaii,
Honolulu. 609 pp.

Jepson, W. 1914. A flora of California. Volume 1. Part 4: 369-464.
Jepson Herbarium and Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Jepson, W. 1925. A manual of the flowering plants of California.
University of California Press, Berkeley.

Junak, S., S. Chaney, R. Philbrick, and R. Clark. 1997. A checklist of
vascular plants of Channel Islands National Park. Southwest Parks and
Monuments Association, Tucson, AZ. 43 pp.

Lorenzi, H. and L. Jeffery. 1987. Weeds of the United States and their
control. Van Nostrand Company, New York. 355 pp.

Khair, M. 1994. Prospects for saltbush (*Atriplex* spp.) as animal feed
in irrigated and marginal lands in Sudan. Tasks for Vegetation Science.
32: 235-237.

Munz, P. 1959. A flora of California. University of California Press,
Berkeley. 1681 pp.

Proctor, M., P. Yeo, and A. Lack. 1996. The natural history of
pollination. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 479 pp.

Reed, C. 1969. *Atriplex*. pp. 52-68. In C. Lundell, C (ed.) Flora of
Texas. Volume 2. Texas Research Foundation, Renner. 417 pp.

Robbins, W. 1940. Alien plants growing without cultivation in
California. Bulletin 637. Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley,
California. 128 pp.

Taylor, D. and D. Wilken. 1993. *Atriplex*. pp. 501-505. In Hickman, J.
(ed.) The Jepson manual: higher plants of California. 1400 pp.

Wagner, W., D. Herbst, and S. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering
plants of Hawaii. 1853 pp.

Warren, S. and S. Aschmann. 1993. Revegetation strategies for
Kaho\'olawe Island, Hawaii. Journal of Range Management. 46: 462-466.

Welsh, S. 1984. Utah flora: Chenopodiaceae. Great Basin Naturalist 44:
183-209.

Wilken, D., 1998. California county flora database version 2, Santa
Barbara Botanic Garden and USDA National Plants Data Center, Santa
Barbara and New Orleans.

Wilson, P. 1984. Chenopodiaceae. pp. 81-330. In George, A. (Ed.). Flora
of Australia. Volume 4. Phytolaccaceae to Chenopodiaceae. Australian
Government Publishing Service, Canberra. 354 pp.

Valido, A and M. Nogales. 1994. Frugivory and seed dispersal by the
lizard *Gallotia galloti* (Lacertidae) in a xeric habitat of the Canary
Islands. Oikos. 70: 403-411.