Atriplex nummularia
Giant Saltbush
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Chenopodiaceae
- Genus
- Atriplex
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Foliage
- evergreen
- Woodiness
- woody
- Height
- 3.5 m
- Fertility
- Wind
- Flower type
- monoecious
- Pollinators
- Wind
Uses
Toxicity
Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.
No member of this genus contains any toxins, all have more or less edible leaves. However, if grown with artificial fertilizers, they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves.
Edible uses
Leaves and young shoots - cooked[K]. Seed - cooked. It can be used as a piñole or be ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups are added to flour for making bread.
- Plant part
- Leaves
Environment
- Range
- Australia. Naturalized in South-western N. America.
- Habitat
- Alkaline places, mainly below 600 metres in California[3].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 8+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerances
- drought
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- tolerant
- Salinity
- tolerant
Propagation
Seed - sow April/May in a cold frame in a compost of peat and sand. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 13°c[1]. Pot up the seedlings when still small into individual pots, grow on in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy. Pot up as soon as they start to root (about 3 weeks) and plant out in their permanent positions late in the following spring[K]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, November/December in a frame. Very easy. Pot up in early spring and plant out in their permanent position in early summer[K].
Cultivation
Requires a position in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil[2]. Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils[2]. Succeeds in a hot dry position. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[2]. Plants are usually monoecious but can be dioecious.
References
Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988-00-00
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959-00-00