Grass Leaved Orache

Foodplant / saprobe
pycnidium of coelomycetous anamorph of Chaetoplea calvescens is saprobic on dead stem of Atriplex littoralis

There are several species of orache notable for the coast. Shore orache grows on the beach in the flood mark and along the borders of salt marshes and sea dikes. Babington's orache and spear-leaved orache grow between stones on sea dikes, above the high-tide water line. Frosted orache is also a species of the flood mark, particularly when it is made up of brown seaweed buried in sand. Oraches are commonly called saltbushes, thanks to the fact that their leaves retain so much salt.

Herbs, monoecious or sub-dioecious, 2.5-7.5(-10) dm. Stems erect or forming sprawling tangled clumps and mostly green; branches erect-ascending, proximal ones opposite and ascending, sparsely scurfy when young, obtusely angled. Leaves alternate or only proximalmost opposite, all shortly petiolate; blade green on both surfaces, linear, linear-oblong, linear-lanceolate, or oblong, (10-)25-80(-120) × 2-8(-12) mm, thin, gradually narrowed, margin mostly entire or some sinuate-dentate with antrorse teeth, apex obtuse to acuminate. Inflorescences of long, dense or interrupted hairy spikes often forming panicle to 20 cm; staminate flowers 4-5-merous. Pistillate bracteoles sessile, triangular to ovate or ovate-rhombic, (3-)5-7 mm, mostly denticulate, rarely subentire, faces tuberculate almost distinct, green becoming brown or black. Seeds dimorphic: brown, 2-2.8 mm wide, round and ± flattened, or black, 1.5-2 mm wide, round, evenly convex; radicle inferior. 2n = 18.

introduced; N.B., N.S., P.E.I.; Ill., Ind., Maine, Mass., Mich., N.H., Ohio, Pa.; Europe.

Flowering summer.

Sea beaches and other saline habitats, old ports and ballast dumps; mainly below 100m.

Atriplex hastata Linnaeus var. littoralis (Linnaeus) Farwell; A. patula Linnaeus var. littoralis (Linnaeus) A. Gray; A. patula subsp. littoralis (Linnaeus) H. M. Hall & Clements

Atriplex littoralis, the grassleaf orache or grass-leaved orache (/ˈɒrətʃ/; also spelled orach) is a species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. It is 70–80 cm high and grows along beaches in many places in the world. It has narrow leaves and grey-green color. In northern Europe it has flowers from July until September.