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status
flower
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morph
petals
sepalstype
type
stem
stem
sex
OR
23rd July 2016, Green Beach, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
A young specimen. The leaves are linear to linear-lanceolate, either toothed or not. In particular, no basal leaves have a triangular shape as they often do on Common Orache and other Oraches. Sometimes Common Orache can also possess similar narrow leaves, but the leaves of Narrow-leaved Orache do not have a translucent leaf-vein visible when viewed against the light source as do those of Common Orache. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
A flowering and seeding specimen. Grows 50 - 100cm high. |
6th Sept 2015, dunes, Crosby, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Getting buried by onshore wind-blown sand. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
A well-branched plant. Leaves not mealy as are many other Oraches. Stem ribbed/ridged. |
6th Sept 2015, dunes, Crosby, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Some stems with grooves/ribs, others angular (square). |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Inflorescences in tightly clustered spikes. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The reddish things are the flowers. The larger triangular-shaped brown flaps (called bracteoles) in overlapping pairs enclose the single seed. The bracteoles open like a bird's beak when the seed is ripe along a horizontal line very close to the foot of the bracteole. The line where the bracteoles are no longer fused is one of the few identifying features of many Oraches, so the seed pods need to be examined closely one at a time. Many are slightly ajar already. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The yellow or green things are the developing seed cases, which turn dark-brown when ripe. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The long tip of the seed cases have an identifying isosceles triangular profile, sometimes with a spike each side, other times with several smaller spikes too. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
These specimens have their bracteoles covered in 'horns' (tubercules). |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
Several developing reddish-purple seed cases are clustered together here. Stem angular. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
A large brown triangular seed case with projections each side. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
The leaves are linear to linear lanceolate; none are triangular. |
10th Oct 2015, sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast | Photo: © RWD |
A large moth on the plant: an Angle Shades moth which has triangular brown marks on which resemble the outline of the seed cases of Oraches, although the same markings are able to camouflage it on a large number of other plants. Even the outline of the spaces between clusters of fruit (just right and below centre) sometimes mirrors the shape and colour of some of the markings on this moth. |
6th Sept 2015, dunes, Crosby, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Fruits basically triangular with knobblier bits present (or sometimes absent). |
6th Sept 2015, dunes, Crosby, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The knobbly bits called tubercules are here tipped red and covered in tiny white bits. |
YOUNG GRASS-LEAVED ORACHE IN FLOWERThey can easily be mistaken for Chenopodium species during this early phase |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
A rift of it in luscious growth perhaps because it is growing in rich soil, fed by a small stream which crawls passed. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers tightly-packed in spikes when young. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaves a little like those of grass, but some are wider in the middle and with teeth (lower left corner) |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Flower spikes branched. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The leaves get shorter and narrower as the top is reached. Note the powdery coating (botanically a farina) |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers have not yet opened and look similar to those of Chenopodium species; they have 5 tepals wrapped around to enclose the sex organs (either stamens or styles, for all Orache are Unisexual, with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Right at the bottom it looks like a couple of hairy styles are escaping from the confines of one of the flowers, so this flower at least is female. Your Author does not know whether the others here are also female, or whether they intermingle. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaves can be wider than grass-leaves and with a few forwardly-directed teeth. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaves with prominent mid-rib on underside. Some a few forwardly-directed teeth. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
And with a few hydathodes to eliminate excess salts and water. The surface is greyish green and littered with larger specs of a white substance which are not sand-grains. |
29th June 2014, under car park, marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The mid-ribs on the underside look square. |
Not to be semantically confused with :
Easily mistaken for : a narrow-leaved specimen of Common Orache (Atriplex patula) which are fairly common, although most Hybridizes with :
It is a native and common plant which grows in sandy saline places near the sea along most coasts of the British Isles but is more common in the East. It is salt-tolerant and is also found inland on road verges which have been sprayed with salt. The horizontal line across where the two bracteoles encasing the single seed are no longer fused is one of the few identifying features of many Oraches, so these seed pods need to be examined closely one at a time and in isolation. Pick a few up from the ground beneath the plant where ripe ones have dropped. Also note the positioning and shape and number of any lumps on the bracteoles, and the overall shape of them. Even from the same species they differ individually by quite a margin, so quite a few may have to be examined.
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littoralis ![]() |
⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Amaranthaceae ![]() |
![]() Atriplex (Oraches) |
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