Atriplex hymenelytra
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Atriplex hymenelytra, the desert holly, is silvery-whitish-gray shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, native to deserts of the southwestern United States.[1]Template:Rp[2]Template:Rp It is the most drought tolerant saltbush in North America.[2] It can tolerate the hottest and driest sites in Death Valley, and remains active most of the year.[2]
The common name refers to the leaves that are shaped similar to holly, but the plants are not related.[1]Template:Rp The toothed leaves and the small reddishScript error: No such module "Unsubst". fruits borne on the plant give it a passing resemblance to the unrelated European holly.[3]
Range and habitat
Desert holly grows in alkaline locations such as desert dry wash and creosote bush scrub in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert down to Baja California.[1][2][3] In the Sonoran Desert it grows in northwestern Mexico, western Arizona, and southeastern California to southwestern Utah, and can be found at elevations ranging from Script error: No such module "convert"..[1]Template:Rp
With dry soil, it can survive temperatures as low as Script error: No such module "convert".; however, it dies if the ground freezes.[4]
Description
Growth pattern
Atriplex hymenelytra is generally a compact, rounded bush, Script error: No such module "convert". tall, covered in distinctive reflective silver-gray, twisted, oblong, many-pointed leaves.[1]Template:Rp[2] It drops its leaves drought deciduous in extreme drought conditions.
It tolerates alkaline soil, salt and sand.[4] The leaves accumulate salts which helps extract water from the soil when other plants cannot.[4] Salt is shed by dropping the leaves.[4] It can live in up to 30 ppm Boron in solution, compared to most plants which can tolerate only about 1-5 ppm.[4] As with other desert climate members of the genus Atriplex, it uses water conserving C4 photosynthesis, and it removes salts by having bladders in the leaves that keep the salt from the plant cells.[4]
Roots, stems, and leaves
Oval to round, Script error: No such module "convert"., silvery-gray leaves have a whitishScript error: No such module "Unsubst". reflective coating of tiny gray to whiteScript error: No such module "Unsubst". scales, and are shaped like twisted or wavy holly leaves, with toothed margins.[1]Template:Rp The silvery color is from salts that collect on surface hairs.[2]Script error: No such module "Unsubst". This helps reflect the light and thereby reduce the amount of water lost.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Inflorescence and fruit
It blooms from January to April in the Sonoran Desert.[1]Template:Rp
Plants are either male or female in their natural dry, desert habitat.[1]Template:Rp When artificially transplanted to cooler and wetter climates, male and female flowers may occur on the same plant.[2]
Female flowers are green.[1]Template:Rp
Green or red fruits occur in dense clusters enclosed in disc-shaped leaf-like bracts, with the 2 round bracteoles pressed together,[1]Template:Rp after flowering.[3]
Ecology
Human uses
Plants were once used as Christmas decorations by drying and dying them.[1]Template:Rp The plants are not a protected species in most habitats.[1]Template:Rp
References
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- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert, Richard Spellenberg, 2nf ed, 2012, Template:ISBN
- ↑ a b c d e f g Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd ed.
- ↑ a b c http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?3084,3089,3112 Jepson
- ↑ a b c d e f Atriplex hymenelytra, Las Pilitas Nursery
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External links
- Pages with script errors
- Atriplex
- North American desert flora
- Flora of the California desert regions
- Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
- Flora of Arizona
- Flora of Baja California
- Flora of Baja California Sur
- Flora of California
- Flora of Nevada
- Flora of Utah
- Flora of Sonora
- Death Valley National Park
- Natural history of the Colorado Desert
- Natural history of the Mojave Desert
- Flora without expected TNC conservation status