Genus of complex taxonomy, due to the great variation shown by species that comprise it. In North Africa it is represented by about 25 species; the number may increase or decrease depending on the level (specific or subspecific) that the various taxa are granted. Most are annuals or herbaceous species. There are 5 species presented here with woody stems, prostrate, erect or climbing shrublets. Another 2 woody species should be mentioned, although they barely exceed 0.5 m in height. They are:<\/p>\n
A. coriacea<\/strong> Forssk., subshrub 20-30(80) cm in height, similar to A. halimus<\/em>, with silvery leaves on both sides, but smaller (up to 20 \u00d7 8 mm), sometimes subopposite and highly coriaceous, with fruit valves oval, \u00b1 cuneiform, fused up to halfway or slightly more, tridentate and slightly tuberculate. It grows in sandy and \u00b1 salty soils, coastal and sublittoral, from Algeria to Egypt.<\/p>\n A. glauca<\/strong> L. [Obione glauca<\/em> (L.) Moq.], of smaller size, creeping subshrub, prostrate, with ascending branches, which besides its size, is differentiated from the previous species mainly by its triangular or rhomboid fruit bracteoles, with the dorsal side covered with very pronounced protuberances. In North Africa several similar species have been described, some of which, due to their similarities, have been synonymised or recombined as subspecies or varieties of A. glauca<\/em>. This makes defining the area of A. glauca <\/em>controversial, but it probably grows from Morocco to Egypt. One subspecies is, A. glauca <\/strong>subsp. mauritanica<\/strong> (Boiss. & Reut.) Dobignard [A. mauritanica <\/em>Boiss. & Reut., A. parvifolia <\/em>Lowe var. mauritanica <\/em>(Boiss. & Reut.) Maire], with large leaves (15-30 \u00d7 7-10 mm) discoloured, growing in coastal areas, present in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Another subspecies is, A. glauca <\/strong>subsp. ifniensis<\/strong> (Caball.) Rivas Mart. et al. <\/em>[A. ifniensis <\/em>Caball., A. parvifolia<\/em> Lowe], differentiated because it is not creeping and it is larger in size and has a larger number of tubercles in the valve of the fruit, present from Mauritania to the S of Morocco, as well as in Canary Islands and Madeira. Finally, A. glauca <\/strong>subsp. palaestina<\/strong> (Boiss.) Dobignard [A. palaestina <\/em>Boiss., A. stylosa <\/em>Viv., A. alexandrina <\/em>Boiss.] is also erect or ascending and it is present in Libya and Egypt.All these species are \u00b1 common. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species<\/em>. Only in Algeria A. coriacea<\/em> is included in the List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012). In various dry or even desert areas of North Africa there are also other species of shrubs or subshrubs from this genus that have been introduced for forage: Atriplex inflata<\/em> F. Muell. [A. lindleyi<\/em> subsp. inflata<\/em> (F. Muell.) P.G. Wilson], Atriplex nummularia<\/em> Lindl., native of Australia, and A. canescens<\/em> (Pursh) Nutt. native of North America.<\/p>\n All these species are \u00b1 common. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species<\/em>. In the Livre Rouge de la flore vasculaire du Maroc (Fennane, 2021) A. glauca<\/em> has been considered as Least Concern (LC). In Algeria A. coriacea<\/em> is included in the List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012). In the updated red list of Egypt (Shaltout & Bedair, 2023) A. coriacea<\/em> and A. glauca<\/em> have been considered as Least Concern (LC).<\/p>\n In various dry or even desert areas of North Africa there are also other species of shrubs or subshrubs from this genus that have been introduced for forage: Atriplex inflata<\/em> F. Muell. [A. lindleyi<\/em> subsp. inflata<\/em> (F. Muell.) P.G. Wilson], Atriplex nummularia<\/em> Lindl., native of Australia, and A. canescens<\/em> (Pursh) Nutt. native of North America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-11741","genus","type-genus","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n