Atriplex depressa

Brittlescale

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Brittlescale is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native annual found in the Great Valley in alkaline or clay soils at elevations below 320 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces white-scaled flowers on small, generally reddish stems that are often brittle and prostrate. Growing to less than 30 centimeters tall with prostrate-decumbent to ascending stems, it has a distinctive appearance with reddishly colored, peeling stems. Its leaves are generally opposite, with small ovate to cordate blades 2.5 to 8 millimeters long, densely covered in white scales and ending in acute tips. The fruit bracts are diamond-shaped, fused near the tip, and generally white-scaled with small tubercles facing the stem.

Habitat: Alkaline or clay soils

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: < 320 m

Bioregions: GV.

California counties: Yolo, Glenn, Fresno, Contra Costa, Butte, Colusa, Merced, Solano, Tulare

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.