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 Leaves Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Leaves Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
A shrub that grows from a woody base with many spreading branches. The species is genetically diverse and quite variable in appearance. It can be hairy to hairless but is usually waxy. It can be green to reddish-purple. Seeds are spread by wind.
Identification notes: Many branches spreading and interlacing; stems slender and brittle, succulent; leaves and stems hairy to hairless, green, bluish-green to reddish-purple; flower clusters found on upper stems.
Height:
Up to 6 feet
Habitat Description: Found in alkaline, saline, and gypsum rich places, especially saline and alkaline wetlands, occasionally in uplands.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Riparian
Elevation: Below 5000 feet
Color:
Green, yellow
Shape:
Irregular in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jul - Sep
Description:
Clusters of 1 to 12 flowers along upper stems; mostly bisexual; sepals succulent with membrtane-like margins; female flowers hooded and unequal in size; sepals of male flowers spread.
Leaf Color:
Green, bluish-green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Stems erect to ascending; leaves alternate, thick and succulent, nearly cylindrical and flat, 3/4 to 1 inch long, green, bluish-green to reddish-purple; larger leaves short stalked to stalkless, internodes (space between leaves) often more than 3/4 inch.
Fruit Color: Green, yellow
Fruit Notes: Utricle (seed vessel) that grows within the calyx.
Seed Notes: Variable in size and color, to 1/16 inch, black or brown.
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