Atriplex nummularia

Bluegreen saltbush

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Bluegreen saltbush is a naturalized shrub found in southern California coastal areas in sandy soils and open, disturbed places at elevations below 40 meters. Flowering from December to June, this plant produces inconspicuous flowers in grayish panicles on dioecious shrubs. Growing 1.5 to 3 meters tall with many ascending to erect branches, it develops a distinctive gray-scaly appearance. Its thick leaves are wide-ovate to nearly triangular, 1.5 to 6.5 centimeters long, with wavy or irregularly toothed edges. The plant produces round, corky fruit bracts 4.5 to 9 millimeters long with occasional horn-like tubercles.

Habitat: Sandy soils, open, disturbed places, coastal bluffs

Bloom period: Dec-Jun

Elevation: < 40 m

Bioregions: SCo

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