Berry Saltbush

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Berry Saltbush - Colleen Miller

Atriplex semibaccata

Spreading shrub to 30 cm high and 1-3 m wide. Leaves oblong with a wavy edge up to 30 mm long. Leaves grey-green on upper side, granular below. Flowers are small, greenish and in clusters.

Details
Flora Type
Chenopods
Distinctive Features

Grey-green shrub with red fleshy fruit.
Biology

Perennial. Able to grow in saline soils and establish on disturbed soil. Grows from lignotubers or tubers. Drought-tolerant. The fleshy juicy fruits (berries) are eaten and dispersed by animals.
Native Status
Native
Flowering Time

Sep-Dec
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Chenopodiaceae
Genus
Atriplex
Species
semibaccata

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

A food plant for the caterpillar of the Saltbush Blue butterfly, Theclinesthes serpentata. Seeds and possibly leaves of some species were used as food by Aboriginal people.

Interesting Facts
Native Status
Native