Marsh Saltbush

Marsh Saltbush photos

Family: Saltbush (Chenopodiaceae)

Scientific Name:

Atriplex paludosa

Marsh Saltbush plant
Photo: A J Brown

Status:

Native to Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Plant Description:

Slender, erect perennial from 30-150 cm high. Silver-grey leaves with minute scales when mature (greener when young), ovate-triangular to oblong or lance-shaped, mostly 1-2 cm long with blunt tips and entire (not toothed) margins, concave on the upper surface.

Plants normally dioecious with male flowers in globular clusters on slender spikes at the ends of branches and the females in the junctions of leaf and stem. Fruiting body 8-10 mm long and broad, almost stalkless and flat, ovate-triangular with a pointed apex, generally with a rounded base and a small tooth on each margin.

Habitat:

Grows on the edges of coastal marshes.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Western, Gippsland	S1, S2, S3, S4	W1, W2, W3

*coastal only

Comments:

Marsh Saltbush has high palatability but does not survive heavy grazing by livestock. Although the species has very high tolerance of salinity it has low waterlogging tolerance.

Mars Saltbush Photos

Stems and leaves of Marsh Saltbush Photo: A J Brown	New shoots of Marsh Saltbush Photo: A J Brown
Female flower spike of Marsh Saltbush Photo: A J Brown	Male flower spike of Marsh Saltbush Photo: A J Brown
Male flower spike of Marsh Saltbush Photo: A J Brown	Female flower spike of Marsh Saltbush Photo: A J Brown

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