2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Atriplex (lat. Atriplex) - an ornamental-leaved plant from the Amaranth family. The second name is quinoa. As for the Latin name of this plant, it is also found in Pliny.
Description
Atriplex is a fairly large annual or biennial, equipped with luxurious purple-red leaves and stems. The leaves of the atriplex are usually alternate (however, sometimes there are exceptions: the lowest leaves are occasionally opposite), and the leaf blades are always very well developed. In addition, quite often atriplex is covered with small silvery hairs - because of this, the plants look like they have been lightly sprinkled with flour.
Unisexual atriplex flowers are always monoecious, that is, they are on the same plant. Male flowers are equipped with five-membered perianths, while female flowers replace such perianths with two compact bracts, which can be either fused or free, but in all cases they cover columns with two stigmas.
In total, the genus atriplex includes about two hundred and fifty plant species, while most of the economically important varieties came to us from the interior of Australia, as well as from the central and western states of the United States.
Where grows
Atriplex is very widespread in both hemispheres, both in the temperate and in the tropical zones. And since this plant is considered a weedy, most often it can be seen growing along ravines, shores, wastelands, etc. On the territory of Russia, about fifteen species of atriplex grow, but the most common is spreading atriplex.
Usage
In ornamental horticulture, only one single type of atriplex is grown - it is a garden atriplex, often referred to as the "Finnish swan". By the way, initially this plant was generally cultivated as a delicacy vegetable crop! Fresh leaves of atriplex garden are prepared by analogy with spinach (salads with the addition of atriplex leaves are especially incomparable), and dried leaves are actively added to various teas.
Also, garden atriplex is often trimmed - this approach allows you to create dense and very effective decorative walls from this plant.
Among other things, atriplex is an incredibly useful plant for cleansing the soil from salt contamination accumulated in them - most of the salts absorbed by this plant are usually stored in its leaves. And powdered dried atriplex leaves are an excellent source of nitrogen, which makes it possible to successfully use them also as a fertilizer. And the pollen is also excellent - honey bees use atriplex in this capacity in the second half of summer and with the onset of autumn.
Growing and caring
Atriplex is good because it does not need special care at all - this plant is very unpretentious, completely undemanding to soils (moreover, it is very tolerant even to excessive salt content in the soil!), Is thermophilic and light-loving, but it grows very well and in the shade.
Reproduction of atriplex is carried out mainly by seeds - they are sown in a permanent place, composing in small nests (two or three seeds in each) and planting at a distance of twenty-five to thirty centimeters from each other. At the same time, it is important to try to select the timing of sowing in such a way that the seedlings could not damage the frost (as a rule, atriplex is planted at the end of May). Seeds sprout usually very amicably, and the first shoots can be observed after six to eight days!
