Australian Saltbush. Australian saltbush, Creeping saltbush
Atriplex semibaccata

Family: Amaranthaceae

What it is like

Atriplex semibaccata is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in) by 1.5 m (5ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Wind. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Height (m): 0.5

Where it is found

Naturalized in southwest N. America, growing in saline waste places, along roads and sidewalks, in marshes, in various plant communities; at elevations from 10 - 1,000 metres. It grows best in coastal, light, well-drained soils. It suits an open sunny position. It is resistant to drought and frost.

Australia - Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territories

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Argentina, Australia*, Chile, Hawaii, Mexico, North America, Pacific, South America, Tasmania, USA.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Edible Portion: Fruit, Leaves. Fruit - raw. The fruit are eaten as a snack. They are added to salads. The young leaves are eaten raw or steamed. They are often boiled to remove excess salt.

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 3

Agroforestry Uses: The plant is used as a groundcover in arid areas and also for erosion control of vulnerable soils. In addition, it has been planted with the aim of restoring mine spoils, e.g. on saline gold mine wastes. High tolerance to salt, with a record of 15 Max dS/m; an excellent coloniser of salt scalds. Evergreen groundcover. In salt land pasture, it can provide supplement feed in summer and winter when other sources of paddock feed are less available. Carbon Farming - Fodder: bank.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

Atriplex semibaccata is a plant of sub-tropical arid and semi-arid areas and appears to grow well also in Mediterranean winter rainfall areas. It can also tolerate warm temperate areas with rain all year round. It is most common in areas where the mean annual rainfall is within the range 250 - 900mm. It grows best in areas where the mean annual temperature is within the range 10 - 23°c, with the mean temperatures in the hottest month ranging from 27 - 36°c and in the coldest month from 0 - 10°c. It can tolerate an absolute minimum of -5°c. Grows best in a sunny position, though able to tolerate some shade in hot, sunny climates. The plant appears to grow in many soil types though preferring light and more acidic soils. However, this includes heavier clay loams and even those than are occasionally waterlogged, but are more generally light to medium clay loams (35-50% clay) or loams, sandy loams, or sandy clay loams. Tolerant of strong, salt-laden winds. A deep-rooted plant, it is a very drought-tolerant species. This species photosynthesizes by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions. In New South Wales, Australia the plant was found to become dormant in winter whereas other Atriplex species remained green, though all species studied showed good adaptation notwithstanding the low and variable rainfall, wide range in temperature, humidity and evaporation and poor soils. Climate: warm temperate to tropical. Humidity: arid to semi-arid. Carbon Farming - Cultivation: minor global crop. Management: coppice, fodder.

Propagating it: It can be grown by seed or cuttings. Seed - sow mid spring in a cold frame in a compost of peat and sand. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 13°c. Pot up the seedlings when still small into individual pots, grow on in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. The plant produces large numbers of fruits and seed and like many other species of the genus, does not appear to exhibit any characteristics of dormancy, with high germination rates with no pre-treatment recorded. The seed germinates best at 21°c, while germination ratesmay be improved by soaking the seeds for several hours to dilute and flush chemicals that inhibit germination. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame. Very easy. Pot up as soon as they start to root (about 3 weeks) and plant out in their permanent positions late in the following spring. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, late autumn in a frame. Very easy. Pot up in early spring and plant out in their permanent position in early summer.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 9-11

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Cachiyuyo, Morenita rastrera.

Synonyms

Atriplex denticulata Moq. Atriplex flagellaris Wooton & Standl. Atriplex neurivalvis Domin. Atriplex semibracteata Steud. Atriplex stuckertii Gand.