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Scientific Name
Atriplex cinerea
Family Name
CHENOPODIACEAE
Common Name
Grey Saltbush
Status
Height
1 - 1.5m
Flowers
Shrubs are either male or female; males can be identified by dense brown spikes of flowers up to 5cm long. Female flowers are cryptic, and are single or occur in small clusters in the leaf axils.
Fruit
Form
Dense shrub to 6m wide, with white, stout, grooved branches and 5-6cm long, silvery-grey, leathery leaves.
Municipalities
Break O'Day; Brighton; Burnie; Clarence; Derwent Valley; Dorset; Flinders Island; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Hobart; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; West Coast
Communities
Habitat Notes
Frequent in salt marshes and on coasts.
Site Tolerance
Frost Tolerance
Soil Tolerance
General Notes
Seed released within 3-14 days of seed maturity. Seed is easy to collect and usually has good results, but viability is variable. 2-3 seeds can be sown directly into pots. Strikes easily from cuttings, requires good drainage. Edible foliage, mistaken as a 'sort of sage' by members of the First Fleet. Tolerant of salt spray. Suitable below powerlines.
Propagation Details
Propagation Calendar
Flowering Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Collecting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sowing Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Cutting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Brown seeds germinate easily, but black seeds only germinate after 3-6 years storage. Fruits are grey, and egg or diamond-shaped.
Seed Treatment Method
Leaching
Seed Storage Life
Viable Seeds Per Gram
Seed Treatment Notes
Seed can be sown while still in the fruit, as long as the fruits are rubbed under running water for several minutes or soaked in water for eight hours, and the water changes 2 or 3 times. This removes the salt which inhibits germination.
Germination Time
Suitable for Direct Seeding
Yes
Cuttings
Expected Time to Take Root
Expected Time to Plant Out
Propagation by Division
N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.
Yes
Cutting Notes
Strikes easily from cuttings.
Copyright 2000-2009, Understorey Network Incorporated. Updated 2024-10-14
Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith