BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Atriplex dioica
saline orache
| Scientific Name: | Atriplex dioica Raf. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Atriplex subspicata
|
||||||||||
| English Name: | saline orache | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | Name change from Atriplex subspicata after a review of the provincial flora in 2006. Treatment follows that adopted by FNA, which subsumes A. subspicata into A. dioica. Kartesz's concept for A. dioica is not as broad as that recognized by FNA; NatureServe therefore regards the BC treatment as Nonstandard. | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | ATRIDIO | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (May 2024) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S4S5 (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Similar Species: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Orache (Atriplex dioica) is monoecious (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2003). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
|||||||||||
| Global Habitat Comments: | Orache (Atriplex dioica) usually occurs on saline or alkaline soils, sea beaches, other saline habitats, prairies, stream valleys, along shores of ponds, waste places, at elevations of 0 to 1500 meters (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2003, Great Plains Flora Association 1986). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
|||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
| Pollen Vector: | |||||||||||
| Pollinator: | |||||||||||
| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
| Inventory Priority: | |||||||||||
| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
| Inventory Need: | |||||||||||
| Economic Attributes | |||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Orache (Atriplex dioica) occurs through much of North America, especially in the western United States, western Canada, Atlantic Canada, and New England in the northeastern United States, there are few occurrences in the southeastern United States. Range extent was estimated to be 12.3 million square kilometers, using herbarium specimens, and photo-based observations data collected between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024). | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Nordman, C. (2024). | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | May 30, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2003b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 4, Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 559 pp. |
|||||||||||
Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 1392 p. |
|||||||||||
Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2024. Species Summary: Atriplex dioica. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 4, 2026).