Atriplex gmelinii var. gmelinii

Gmelin's saltbush

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Gmelin's saltbush is a California native annual found in coastal bioregions including Northern Coast, Central Coast, and San Francisco Bay areas in salt marshes and beaches at elevations below 50 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces green flowers with distinctive diamond-shaped or ovate bracts. Growing 0.5 to 2.5 meters tall with sprawling to erect stems that branch from the base and have ascending branches. Its leaves are linear to lanceolate, ascending, and attached by petals, ranging 10 to 70 millimeters long with tapered or rounded bases. The plant produces two kinds of seeds, with one type being 1 to 2 millimeters long and black, and the other 2 to 3 millimeters long and brown.

Habitat: Salt marshes, beaches

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 50 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, SnFrB

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