戟叶滨藜 ji ye bin li

Atriplex latifolia Wahlenberg; A. microsperma Waldstein & Kitaibel.

Herbs annual, to 1 m tall. Stem erect, usually stout, terete, ribbed, green striate, subglabrous; branches cylindric, obliquely spreading. Leaves alternate or subopposite; petiole 1-3 cm; leaf blade triangular-hastate, 5-10 × 4-10 cm, abaxially slightly furfuraceous, adaxially glabrous, base slightly cordate or subtruncate, margin irregularly serrate or with 1-3 pairs of unequal, serrate lobes below middle, apex acute or acuminate. Inflorescences spikelike or paniculate on upper part of stem and branches. Male flower: perianth yellow, subglobose, 5-parted; stamens 5. Fruiting bracts connate only at base, rhombic to ovate-triangular, densely furfuraceous, margins usually entire. Utricle ca. 1.2 mm; pericarp yellow-white, adnate to seed. Seed black, sublustrous, compressed globose. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Sep-Oct.

Moist valley meadows, roadsides. N Xinjiang [N Africa, C and SW Asia, Europe; naturalized in many other regions of the world].

The rejected name Atriplex hastata Linnaeus was often misapplied to this species. The name A. hastata in the strict sense refers to the European coastal taxon now known as A. calotheca (Rafn) Fries.