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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE GOOSEFOOT FAMILY | ||
| The goosefoots are found in a wide variety of habitats around the world, but are especially common in dry or saline soil. Many species are considered weedy or invasive. This family contains over 1,150 fleshy herbs and shrubs. Some species may have kranz venation. This means that if you scrape the leaf with a sharp object you will see a dark network of veins if you look under a microscope at 10X magnification. This character is often used in the identification of plants in this family. The flowers are very small and are found in dense clusters in the leaf axils or at the ends or branches. The sepals and petals are not easily distinguishable, so they may be referred to as the perianth or as tepals. The flowers have five distinct stamens. There is a wide range of physical variation within species. | ||
| WEDGESCALE SALTBUSH | ||
| LATIN NAME: Atriplex truncata | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Wedgescale saltbush grows 10 to 40 cm tall from a taproot. The straw-coloured stem is branched. The leaves of this herbaceous plant are alternate, sessile, and have kranz-type venation. The triangular leaves have a square or heart-shaped base and a smooth or wavy margin. The male and female flowers are on the same plant. The female flowers have triangular bracts with three teeth at the tip. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Wedgescale saltbush grows in dry alkaline flats and sloughs. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This plant grows in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Wedgescale saltbush is endangered in Saskatchewan because it is rare and regionally restricted. Most local populations are small and some are threatened by human development. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WEDGESCALE SALTBUSH | ||
| * Do the leaves have kranz-type venation? * Are the plants herbaceous? * Are the leaves sessile? * Did you find in southwestern Saskatchewan? |
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If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have wedgescale saltbush! |
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