Atriplex bunburyana

Atriplex bunburyana, commonly known as Silver Saltbush, is a species of saltbush endemic to Western Australia.

Description

It grows as an erect shrub up to a metre high, with slender branches that are often straight and rigid. Leaves are oval in shape, five to 20 millimetres long, with a linear margin and a blueish colour caused by a thin scaly coating.^[1]

Taxonomy

It was first published by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1882 under the name Atriplex bunburyanum,^[2] but this name was orthographically invalid and has been corrected to Atriplex bunburyana.^[3] The name refers to the collector of the type specimen, a Miss Bunbury, who collected specimens of this species from the Gascoyne River in 1882.

The species' only synonym is A. paludosa subsp. graciliflora, published by Paul Aellen in 1938.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to Western Australia, it occurs through most of the western half of the state, both near the coast and inland.^[5]

References