Atriplex semibaccata

Australian saltbush

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Australian saltbush is a naturalized perennial herb found in California's Central Valley, Mojave Desert, and coastal regions in disturbed areas, scrub, and woodland habitats at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from April to December, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers with reddish-tinged fruit bracts. Growing as a spreading, mat-like subshrub up to 1 meter wide, it develops multiple stems that spread horizontally across the ground. Its leaves are oblong to oblanceolate, 8 to 35 millimeters long, with wavy edges and a scaly surface that gives the plant a distinctive grayish-green appearance. The plant produces small brown seeds and forms dense, low-growing patches in disturbed landscapes.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, scrub, woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Dec

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc CaR, n&ampc SN), D

California counties: San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Kings, Alameda, Contra Costa, Imperial, Marin, Solano, Merced, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Monterey, Glenn, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Napa, Colusa, Fresno, Tulare, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Yolo

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