Atriplex hymenelytra is an easy species to identify on account of its thick, silvery-grey leaves, with a scaly surface and large, irregular teeth along the margin; holly-like in outline, and like the holly producing reddish fruits. Stems are similar in color to the leaves. Plants are shrubs, woody at the base, forming dense clumps up to 3 feet tall and wide.
Flowers are mainly terminal, in short spikes rising a little way above the uppermost leaves. Plants are dioecious, with either staminate or pistillate flowers; the former have exserted stamens topped by reddish anthers, while the latter are yellowish, and in fruit are subtended by greenish bracts, approximately round in outline, with toothed or entire margins.
Common name:
Desert holly
Family:
Scientific name:
Atriplex hymenelytra
Main flower color:
Range:
The Mojave Desert, and neighboring areas
Height:
Up to 3 feet
Habitat:
Washes, flats and slops, in arid desert areas, usually on alkaline soils; up to 4,500 feet
Leaves:
Up to 1.7 inches long, greyish, ovate to rounded, lined by large teeth
Season:
August to November
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