Family: Amaranthaceae
Atriplex
Citation:
L., Sp. Pl. 1052 (1753).
Derivation: Latin atriplexum, an orache.
Synonymy: Not Applicable Common name: Saltbushes.
Description:
Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, monoecious or dioecious; indumentum of bladder-like hairs which may collapse to form a scurry or scaly covering; leaves mostly alternate, flat to semiterete, entire, dentate or lobed.
Flowers unisexual, small, clustered, the clusters axillary, spicate or paniculate; male flowers without bracts or bracteoles; perianth deeply 5-lobed; stamens 5, filaments linear; female flowers: perianth absent and replaced by a pair of bracteoles which enlarge and cover the fruit; bracteoles sessile or stipitate, free or fused, in fruit herbaceous or woody or spongy, sometimes with appendages which may exceed the bracteoles; stigmas 2, slender.
Pericarp membranous; seed erect, lenticular; testa crustaceous, coriaceous or membranous; embryo annular; perisperm central.
Distribution:
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Cosmopolitan with over 250 species, often halophytic.
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Biology:
The term 'bracteoles' refers to the fruiting bracteoles.
Uses:
Variants of the European species, A. hortensis L., are grown for food and as an ornamental.
Key to Species:
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1. Annuals or short-lived perennials, monoecious; fruiting bracteoles almost totally united, spongy or (in 1 species) dorsiventrally flattened and with broad vertical wings; appendages (other than wings) absent |
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SPONGIOCARPUS Sect. II. |
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1. Annuals, perennials or shrubs; fruiting bracteoles free or united, not spongy though sometimes with spongy appendages; wings absent |
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2. Annuals with slender ribbed stems; leaves herbaceous, flat, venation open |
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TEUTLIOPSIS Sect. I. |
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2. Perennial herbs or shrubs; leaves with closed dark-green reticulate venation |
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3. Perennial herbs, monoecious; glomerules of male flowers axillary or spicate |
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SEMIBACCATAE Sect. III. |
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3. Perennial herbs or shrubs, predominantly dioecious; glomerules of male flowers spicate or paniculate |
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DIALYSEX Sect. IV. |
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1. Lower leaves lanceolate, entire to deeply serrate, if hastate then with forwardly directed basal lobes |
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A. australasica 4. |
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1. Lower leaves triangular or hastate with spreading or slightly backwardly directed basal lobes |
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A. prostrata 29. |
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1. Bracteoles globular, ellipsoid, or obovoid; wing-like appendages absent |
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2. Leaves sessile or shortly petiolate; bracteoles broadly ellipsoid to globular, 4-6 (rarely to 8) mm long |
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A. spongiosa 36. |
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2. Leaves conspicuously petiolate; bracteoles globular to obovoid, 8-12 mm long |
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A. holocarpa 13. |
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1. Bracteoles variously shaped, bearing 1 or 2 horizontal to vertical wings (sometimes very narrow) |
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3. Tube small, obconical, 1-3 mm high, somewhat compressed |
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4. Valves fan-shaped, appressed; appendages inflated, attached to the apex of the tube on each side |
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A. kochiana 16. |
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4. Valves minute or triangular and 1-2 mm long; appendages wing-like, horizontal, somewhat undulate |
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5. Bracteoles scurfy-pubescent |
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A. obconica 26. |
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5. Bractcoles glabrous, glossy |
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A. macropterocarpa 21. |
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3. Tube prominent, 5-12 mm high, either compressed and bordered by decurrent wings or turbinate to globular without decurrent wings |
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A. lindleyi 19. |
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1. Bracteoles from half to nearly entirely united |
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2. Bracteoles cylindrical or with a cylindrical tube |
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3. Bracteoles 4-6-lobed at the apex; the lobes horn-like, fan-shaped, or reduced to small teeth |
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A. limbata 18. |
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3. Bracteoles acute to rounded or truncate |
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4. Bracteoles with free broadly fan-shaped to reniform valves, often with recurved lobes |
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A. angulata 3. |
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4. Bracteoles fused to the apex; distal portion flattened to cylindrical, oblong or narrow-cuneate |
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5. Bracteole apex flattened, rhomboid or cuneate, dentate, glossy when mature |
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A. intermedia 15. |
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5. Bracteole apex compressed or cylindrical, insignificant, scurfy |
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6. Bracteoles smooth, 3-5 mm long, the basal portion being the spongy straw-coloured pedicel (LE region) |
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A. sturtii 38. |
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6. Bracteoles smooth or tuberculate, 4-6 mm long including the slender or spongy pedicel (LE, NL, MU regions) |
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A. leptocarpa 17. |
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2. Bracteoles flattened to biconvex, without a cylindrical tube |
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7. Bracteoles without dorsal appendages |
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8. Bracteoles sessile (or appearing so) |
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9. Bracteoles more or less deltoid, prominently reticulate, often red and succulent when fresh; plant prostrate or decumbent |
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A. semibaccata 35. |
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9. Bracteoles variously shaped, not succulent |
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10. Erect divaricately branched plant with deeply concave clasping leaves (NU region) |
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A. cryptocarpa 8. |
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10. Prostrate to erect; leaves not clasping (widespread) |
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11. Plant prostrate; leaves 2-6 mm long; bracteoles 1-1.5 mm long |
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A. pumilio 31. |
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11. Plant decumbent to erect; leaves and bracteoles longer than above |
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12. Bracteoles oblong, with a somewhat swollen tube |
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A. acutibractea 1. |
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12. Bracteoles compressed and rhomboid to deltoid or swollen and rounded at the apex |
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13. Bracteoles swollen, rounded at the apex |
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A. muelleri 23. |
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13. Bracteoles compressed, rhomboid to deltoid |
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14. Leaves coarsely serrate, sparsely scurfy above and below; bracteoles scurfy-pubescent |
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A. suberecta 39. |
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14. Leaves sinuate-dentate to entire, scurfy below, glabrescent above |
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A. semibaccata 35. |
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8. Bracteoles pedicellate |
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15. Leaves sessile or subsessile, 5-20 (rarely to 30) mm long |
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16. Bracteoles deltoid to rhomboid, flattened, reticulate; leaves glabrescent above |
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A. semibaccata 35. |
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16. Bracteoles swollen at least in part |
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A. acutibractea 1. |
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17. Bracteoles obtuse to truncate, entire or toothed |
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18. Bracteoles turbinate or narrow-turbinate, c. 5 mm long |
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A. turbinata 40. |
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18. Bracteoles rhomboid to deltoid or broad-deltoid |
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19. Bracteoles with a short thick pedicel and deltoid 3-toothed valves, in all 2-3 mm long |
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A. crassipes 7. |
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19. Bracteoles shortly and narrowly pedicellate, broad- rhomboid to broad-deltoid, 2-3 mm long, denticulate or entire |
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A. pseudocampanulata 30. |
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15. Leaves prominently petiolate, 20-40 mm long; bracteoles with fan-shaped or reniform valves |
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A. angulata 3. |
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7. Bracteoles with dorsal appendages |
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20. Bracteole appendages numerous, verrucose or papillose |
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21. Leaves thick, linear to narrow-oblong, acute |
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A. papillata 28. |
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21. Leaves thin, broad-obovate, sinuate-dentate, rounded |
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A. morrisii 22. |
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20. Bracteole appendages 1-4, or few and flattened or inflated |
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22. Appendages tuberculate, papillose, or slender |
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23. Bracteoles with a short thick pedicel; valves flattened, deltoid, c. 2 mm long |
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A. crassipes 7. |
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23. Bracteoles sessile, U-shaped, swollen, c. 1.5 mm long |
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A. elachophylla 11. |
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22. Appendages inflated, foliaceous, or spiny |
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24. Bracteoles with a swollen base and narrow beak-like valves; appendage inflated |
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A. nessorhina 24. |
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24. Bracteoles without a swollen base |
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25. Bracteoles equal; leaves with sinuate margins |
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A. pseudocampanulata 30. |
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A. eardleyae 9. |
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26. Appendages inflated, attached along each margin on one side of the tube |
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A. eichleri 10. |
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1. Fruiting bracteoles free to near the base |
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27. Bracteoles fan-shaped to reniform, unequal |
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A. eardleyae 9. |
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27. Bracteoles not as above |
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28. Bracteoles prominently lobed |
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29. Leaves congested, sessile, cordate |
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A. quadrivalvata 32. |
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29. Leaves not congested, petiolate or narrowed at the base |
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30. Bracteoles with flat or inflated acutely lobed appendages A. fissivalvis 12 |
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30. Bracteoles without appendages |
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A. lobativalvis 20. |
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28. Bracteoles entire or the margin sinuate or toothed |
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31. Bracteole appendages inflated, entire, more or less equal in size to the bracteoles |
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A. kochiana 16. |
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31. Bracteole appendages small or absent |
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32. Leaves narrow-triangular, cordate at the base |
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A. cordifolia 6. |
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32. Leaves narrow-oblong to broad-obovate, narrowed at the base |
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33. Bracteoles with I or 2 tubercular appendages on each valve |
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A. semibaccata 35. |
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33. Bracteoles either without appendages or with inflated appendages |
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34. Bracteoles prominently dentate, scurfy-tomentose; appendages basal, small and inflated |
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A. acutiloba 2. |
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34. Bracteoles entire or with basal teeth, scurfy-tomentose to subglabrous; appendages basal or absent |
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A. velutinella 41. |
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1. Bracteoles slender-pedicellate, reniform or semicircular, entire |
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2. Bracteole appendages absent; leaves elliptic to broad-elliptic, 0.5-1 cm long, entire |
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A. stipitata 37. |
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2. Bracteole appendages reniform, inflated, about half the width of the valve; leaves oblanceolate, c. 2 cm long, distantly toothed |
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A. quinii 33. |
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1. Bracteoles with a thick pedicel or sessile to subsessile |
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3. Bracteoles with a bladder-like appendage |
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A. vesicaria 42. |
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3. Bracteoles without appendages, or with 2 slender antler-like appendages |
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5. Leaves cordate to deltoid; bracteoles broad-rhomboid to orbicular, c. 3 mm wide, biconvex, hard with little or no papery margin (MU region) |
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A. rhagodioides 34. |
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5. Leaves elliptic (coastal) |
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6. Female flowers in terminal inflorescences; bracteoles cordate to deltoid, flat, without appendages |
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A. paludosa 27. |
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6. Female flowers axillary; bracteoles ovoid to rhomboid, swollen in the centre, smooth or with verrucose appendages |
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A. cinerea 5. |
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4. Leaves dentate or denticulate, deltoid to cordate, broad-elliptic or orbicular |
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7. Leaves rhomboid to orbicular, sinuate-dentate; bracteoles sessile, rhomboid to orbicular, papery all over or with a thickened base; valves appressed or reflexed, with entire or denticulate margins; shrub 1.5-3 m high, with ascending branches (inland) |
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A. nummularia 25. |
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7. Leaves cordate to deltoid, dentate; bracteoles sessile, thickened all over or only at the base; divaricately branched shrubs |
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8. Bracteoles suborbicular, 6-10 mm wide; valves papery, slightly recurved, dentate, thickened in the centre or towards the base (LE, GT) |
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A. incrassata 14. |
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8. Bracteoles broad-rhomboid to orbicular, c. 3 mm wide, biconvex, hard with little or no papery margin (MU region) |
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A. rhagodioides 34. |
Author:
Not yet available
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