Atriplex coronata
Encyclopedia
Atriplex coronata is a species of saltbush
known by the common name crownscale. It is endemic to California
, where it grows in areas of saline and alkaline soils
in the Central Valley, nearby mountain slopes, and south coast.
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
known by the common name crownscale. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in areas of saline and alkaline soils
Alkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
in the Central Valley, nearby mountain slopes, and south coast.
Description
This is an annual herb producing stiff erect or leaning straw-colored stems up to about 30 centimeters tall. The gray scaly leaves are one or two centimeters long and generally oval-shaof flowers. The seeds are just over a millimeter long.Varieties
There are two to three varieties of this species:- One, the San Jacinto Valley crownscale, Atriplex coronata var. notatior, is limited to the San Jacinto RiverSan Jacinto River (California)The San Jacinto River is a river in Riverside County, California. The river's headwaters are in San Bernardino National Forest, but the lower portion of the watershed is urban and agricultural land....
valley in western Riverside CountyRiverside County, CaliforniaRiverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
. It is treated as an endangered speciesEndangered speciesAn endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
since being listed on the federal level in 1998.