Atriplex elegans

(Moq.) D. Dietr.

Wheelscale saltbush

AmaranthaceaeLeavesSeeds/Nuts

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Seeds

Edible Parts: Leaves Seed Edible Uses: Edible uses & rating: Leaves (fresh in small amounts or better cooked), seeds likely edible (not emphasized). Edibility rating: 3/5. Taste & processing notes: Leaves of any age are mild for the genus; trace bitterness but not harsh/salty. Makes an excellent potherb; strip leaves quickly from stems. Season/harvest: Blooms spring–autumn; gather greens young [2-3]. Leaves - cooked. They are boiled as a salty flavouring with other foods. Seed - used in piñole or ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups and stews, or mixed with cereal flours to enhance their nutritional value when making bread, biscuits, cakes etc. The seeds are about 1 - 1.5mm wide.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

North America, USA,

Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, St Vincent

How to Identify

Atriplex elegans is a compact annual growing to 0.2 m tall. It flowers from July through September with seeds ripening August to October. The plant is monoecious and wind-pollinated, thriving in light sandy to medium loamy, well-drained soils that may be nutrient-poor. It tolerates mildly acidic through basic soils, including highly alkaline and saline conditions. Full sun is required; both drought and moist soils are acceptable.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown by seed or cuttings.

Propagation: Direct sow; germinates fast in warm soils. Germination is usually rapid.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

Wildlife/ecology: Seeds for small birds; quick pioneer on bare saline ground. Special Uses

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Atriplex elegans is a species of saltbush known by the common name wheelscale saltbush, Mecca orach, or wheelscale. It is native to the Southwestern United States, and northern Mexico, where it grows in areas of saline or alkaline soils, such as alkali flats and desert dry lakebeds.

Notes

There are about 100-300 Atriplex species. They have also been put in the family Chenopodiaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Atriplex elegans subsp. elegansAtriplex elegans var. elegansObione elegans Moq.

References (2)

Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/