AN ILLUSTRATED KEY TO THE AMARANTHACEAE OF ALBERTA

Transcription

1 AN ILLUSTRATED KEY TO THE AMARANTHACEAE OF ALBERTA Compiled and written by Lorna Allen & Linda February2018 Linda J. & Lorna Allen

2 This key was compiled using information primarily from Moss (1983), Douglas et. al. (1998a [Amaranthaceae], 1998b [Chenopodiaceae]) and the Flora North America Association (2008). Taxonomy follows VASCAN (Brouillet, 2015). Please let us know if there are ways in which the key can be improved. The 2015 S-ranks of rare species (S1; S1S2; S2; S2S3; SU, according to ACIMS, 2015) are noted in superscript ( S1;S2;SU ) after the species names. For more details go to the ACIMS web site. Similarly, exotic species are followed by a superscript X, XX if noxious and XXX if prohibited noxious ( X; XX; XXX ) according to the Alberta Weed Control Act (2016).

3 1a 2a AMARANTHACEAE Amaranth Family (includes Chenopodiaceae/Goosefoot Family) Key to Genera 01a Flowers with spiny, dry, thin and translucent (not green) bracts at the base; tepals dry, thin and translucent; separate and flowers on same the plant; annual herbs; fruits thin-walled (utricles), splitting open around the middle (circumscissile)....amaranthus 01b Flowers without spiny, dry, thin, translucent bracts; tepals herbaceous or fleshy, greenish; flowers various; annual or perennial, herbs or shrubs; fruits various, not splitting open around the middle a 02a Leaves scale-like, paired (opposite); stems fleshy/succulent, with flowers sunk into stem; plants of saline habitats... Salicornia rubra.... [Salicornia europaea] 02b Leaves well developed, not scale-like; stems not fleshy; plants of various habitats a 03a Flower bracts tipped with spine or spine-like bristle; leaves spine-tipped, linear to awlshaped, usually not fleshy; tepals winged from the lower surface... Salsola 03b Leaves and flower bracts not spine- or bristletipped; tepals winged from the tip or without wings b 7a 04a Leaf blades sub-cylindric to linear, usually fleshy b Leaf blades flattened, not especially fleshy.06 05a Shrubs with spiny/thorny branches; flowers either or ; flowers in spikes at branch tips; flowers 1-2 in upper leaf axils, broadly winged in fruit....sarcobatus vermiculatus 05b Shrubs, sub-shrubs or herbs, not spiny; flowers tiny, with both and parts (rarely or ), 1-5 in leaf axils....suaeda 06a Plants densely hairy, with star-shaped hairs.07 06b Plants without star-shaped hairs, often hairless or covered with whitish, mealy powder b 07a Sub-shrubs (woody bases) with white to brown star-shaped hairs, some golden brown in age; leaves linear, 2-3 mm wide, 4 cm long, with down-rolled edges; plants densely hairy with matted hairs, branches hairless at the base.... Krascheninnikovia lanata [Eurotia lanata] 07b Annual herbs with rust-coloured star-shaped hairs ( ) and simple whitish hairs; leaves broadly to narrowly lance-shaped, 5-15 mm wide, 5-6 cm long, edges not rolled down; plants hairy, but side branches largely hairless on the lower hwalf.. Axyris amaranthoides X 3

4 8a 08a flowers usually without tepals; flowers (at least some) enclosed by 2 fused bracts that enlarge with fruiting; flowers usually or (rarely with both sexes) b All flowers with tepals, not enclosed by fused bracts; flowers with both and parts (rarely some only ) a Stigmas 4-5; plants lacking scales on stems and leaves, commonly cultivated herb spinacia oleracea X 09b Stigmas 2; plants with semi-transparent or white-encrusting scales on stems and leaves, rarely cultivated a 9a 10b 10a Leaf stalks the blade length; flower bracts fused below the middle, with a sharp vertical ridge; fruits tipped with 2 teeth; seed coats thin and ± translucent; annual herbs Suckleya suckleyana 10b Leaf stalks < the blade length; flower bracts fused to above the middle, without a sharp vertical ridge; fruits not 2-toothed at the tip; seed coats leathery; perennial or annual, herbs or shrubs.... Atriplex 11a Tepals winged or armed with slender hooked spines in fruit; leaf blades smooth-edged; weedy annuals... Bassia [includes Kochia] 11b Tepals rounded or keeled on the lower/outer surface, neither winged nor spiny; weedy or not, annual or perennial a 12a 12a Tepals 0-3; fruits largely exposed, tipped with 2 teeth, usually edged with a distinct wing; stamens 1-3(-5); leaves lance-shaped to thread-like; plants with branched, almost star-shaped hairs or nearly hairless, found in sandy, low elevation sites.... Corispermum 12b Tepals 5; fruits largely concealed by tepals to exposed, not as above; stamens usually 5; plants hairless, sometimes covered with whitish, mealy powder, in various habitats a 13a Flowers singly set in small clumps, on spikelike branches in loose, branching clusters (panicles); leaves bright green, hairless, eggshaped to triangular, x 2-9 cm, with 1-5 coarse triangular teeth per side chenopodiastrum simplex...[chenopodium gigantospermum;... Chenopodium simplex] 13b Flowers in loose or dense condensed headlike clusters; leaves various, usually with mealy powder a 14a Seeds all horizontal (rarely with a few vertical).... Chenopodium 14b Seeds all vertical or both horizontal and vertical

5 15b 15a 2a 3a 3b 4a 15a Seeds all vertical Blitum... [Chenopodium, in part] 15b Seeds both horizontal and vertical. Oxybasis... [Chenopodium, in part] AMARANTHUS Amaranth (a-ma-ran-thus; a-ma-ran-tõõs) 01a Leaf blades 0.5-3(4) cm long; plants erect or sprawling, usually much branched from base; flowers all in small clusters in leaf axils b Leaf blades 4-15 cm long; plants usually erect, not branched at base; flowers in compound or simple spikes at stem tips or in leaf axils a tepals 4-5; stamens 3; seeds ± mm wide; plants ascending to sprawling amaranthus blitoides...[amaranthus graecizans] 02b tepals mostly 3; stamens 1-3; seeds usually <1.0 mm wide; plants erect to sprawling a Bracts 2-3mm long; tepals of flowers all ± the same size, at least 2 well-developed; plants erect; uncommon but widespread on disturbed ground.... Amaranthus albus 03b Bracts <2mm long; tepals of flowers of unequal size usually only 1 well-developed, sometimes with 1-3 but distinctly unequal; plants sprawling; rare sab grassland species.... Amaranthus californicus S2S3 04a Upper stems long soft hairy; leaves hairy beneath, at least along veins; tepals clearly longer than the ovary, broadly rounded or shallowly notched at tip, with a green midvein.... Amaranthus retroflexus X 04b Upper stems hairless to sparsely hairy; leaves generally hairless beneath; tepals shorter than the ovary, ± bristle-tipped and the midvein usually not green,... Amaranthus powellii X 4b 2a 2b ATRIPLEX Saltbush (Ā-tri-pleks; A-trē-pleks) Note: Leaf shape and mealiness are usually too variable to be useful key characteristics, and descriptions often disagree with the characteristics used in keys to distinguish species. The following key relies mainly on Bassett et, al., a Perennial shrubs b Annual herbs a Shrubs (10) cm tall; fruit-bracts (bracteoles) (4)6-12(20) mm, irregular in shape, without small, wart-like bumps but with 4 projecting side wings.. Atriplex canescens 02b Subshrubs (woody at base only) 10-40(100) cm tall; fruit-bracts 2-9 mm, round, with small, wart-like bumps (sometimes aligned in 4 rows) but without wings...atriplex gardneri...[atriplex nuttallii misapplied; A. aptera] 5

6 5a 3a 6b 6a 4a 03a Leaves with conspicuous, dark green, netted veins (kranz-type venation), visible at 12x magnification on surfaces lightly scraped with a sharp blade; flowers/fruits all similar, all with enclosing bracts b Leaves with normal, dicotyledonous veins; flowers/fruits of 2 types (except A. suckleya and A. glabriuscula), 1 large and 1 small, sometimes with 1 type lacking fruit bracts a Leaves usually wavy-toothed and lobed, grayish green; stems sprawling or erect; branches ascending to spreading; seed radicle inferior; exotic weeds in gardens and on disturbed ground.... Atriplex rosea X 04b Leaves commonly smooth-edged, whitishgray; stems erect; branches ascending; seed radicle superior; native species of alkaline habitats, mainly in the prairies a Fruit-bracts widest above the middle, 4-8 mm long, deeply toothed and usually with large wart-like bumps Atriplex argentea 05b Fruit-bracts wedge-shaped or oblong, mm long, usually smooth-edged, edge never toothed (but may have small teeth at tip) a Fruit-bracts wedge-shaped, tipped with 3 tiny teeth, the upper surface smooth or with 1-2 small, wart-like bumps; leaves not conspicuously nerved...atriplex truncata S1 06b Fruit-bracts oblong, 2x as long as broad, tipped with a flattened lobe, the upper surface usually with many small wart-like bumps below the lobes; leaves conspicuously 3-nerved Atriplex powellii S2 8a 8b 7a 9b 07a Calyx of flowers cup-shaped, with 2-3 fleshy-crested lobes, pink; fruit-bracts 2 x 1.5 mm, inconspicuous, smooth-sided, with edges fused to the tip; leaves thick and succulent Atriplex suckleyi 07b Calyx of flowers with egg-shaped lobes rounded on the back, green in the center, thin and somewhat translucent near the edges; fruit-bract edges joined at the base only or fused up to the middle; leaves various a Fruit-bracts green and leafy (herbaceous) or thin and somewhat translucent throughout, without spongy inner tissue b Fruit-bracts ± thickened with spongy inner tissue, especially near the base a Fruit-bracts round, always smooth-edged and without side angles b Fruit-bracts never round, often toothed and usually with side angles

7 13b 10a 10b 11a 12a 13a 11b 10a flowers of 2 types: most with dull brown, vertical seeds enclosed by a pair of showy, 5-18 mm bracts, and a few with shiny black, horizontal seeds with 5 small tepal lobes and no bracts; fruit-bracts notched or broadly rounded at the base, 5-18 mm long Atriplex hortensis X 10b flowers all with vertical seeds enclosed by fruit-bracts 6 mm long; fruit-bracts shortly tapered to the base but of 2 sizes, 5-6 mm fruit-bracts with dull yellowish brown, 2-3 mm seeds and 2 mm fruit-bracts with shiny black 1.5 mm seeds....atriplex heterosperma X 11a Fruit-bracts diamond shaped, with edges fused almost to the middle and side angles clearly developed; uppermost flower/fruit clusters densely compressed, with fruit-bracts of ± uniform size; upper leaves green above and below.... Atriplex patula X...[Atriplex hastata patula] 11b Fruit-bracts egg-shaped to triangular-eggshaped, without side angles, the edges separate to the base; uppermost flower/fruit clusters with loosely spaced fruit-bracts; upper leaves whitish beneath Atriplex oblongifolia X 12a Leaves thickened, strongly 3-veined from near the base; lower leaves linear to lance- shaped or egg-shaped Atriplex dioica... [Atriplex subspicata] 12b Leaves neither thickened nor 3-veined; lower leaves triangular a Flowers/fruits in small, irregularly spaced clumps (glomerules), forming loose clusters with leafy bracts to the tip; fruit-bracts thick and spongy, with edges fused from the base to the middle; seeds >2.5 mm wide, usually all dark brown to black, irregularly biconvex (not of 2 different forms); seed radicle ± strongly pointing upward from the middle; rare native species, ne AB.... Atriplex glabriuscula S1 13b Flowers/fruits in spherical, contiguous (sometimes irregularly spaced) clumps, forming tight clusters with leafy bracts only at the base; fruit-bracts thin to slightly spongy thickened, with edges fused only at the base; seeds usually of 2 different forms, mostly <2.5 mm wide and glossy-black but also some larger and dull brown; seed radicle pointing obliquely up or out from near the base, fairly widespread in moist, saline sites in c-s AB, probably introduced... Atriplex prostrata X....[Atriplex patula hastata] 7

8 01a 01b BASSIA Bassia (BA-sē-a) 01a Tepals with a thin, hooked spine extending out from the underside... Bassia hyssopifolia X 01b Tepals with a flattened wing extending out from the underside.... Bassia scoparia X... [Kochia scoparia] 01a 01b BLITUM Blitum (BLĪ-tum; BLĒ-toom) 01a Plants erect to spreading, cm tall, without mealy powder; leaves 3-10 x 1-9 cm; flowers in dense, stalkless, heads 3-10(15) mm wide forming unbranched spikes at branch tips; tepals 3, covering the fruit at maturity, usually becoming fleshy and red.. Blitum capitatum... [Chenopodium capitatum] 01b Plants sprawling to spreading with stems cm long, sparsely covered with whitish, mealy powder when young, mostly naked with age; leaves 1-3(5) x (2.5) cm; flowers in small, compact clusters of 1-many in leaf axils; tepals 1, not fleshy/red in fruit.... Blitum nuttallianum [Monolepis nuttalliana] 1a 3b 3a 4a 1b CHENOPODIUM Goosefoot (kē-no-pō-dē-um; ke-no-pō-dē-oom) 01a Main leaves linear to linear-lance-shaped (occasionally narrowly oblong-egg-shaped), 2-3x longer than wide, without teeth or lobes (occasionally with 1 pair of basal lobes) b Leaves egg-, diamond- or lance-shaped or triangular, <2x longer than wide, usually with basal lobes and often edged with teeth a Leaf blades 1-veined, linear, usually somewhat fleshy, with or without a covering of mealy powder b Leaf blades 3-veined from the base, linear, lance-shaped, narrowly oblong- egg-shaped or triangular-diamond shaped, occasionally with a pair of basal lobes, densely covered with whitish, mealy powder on the lower/outer side (C. pratericola is sometimes sparsely mealy) a Fruits ± inflated, the outer wall separable from the seed (utricles); plants mostly naked (without mealy powder) Chenopodium subglabrum S2 03b Fruits not inflated, the outer wall attached to the seed (achenes); plants mostly covered with whitish, mealy powder Chenopodium leptophyllum 04a Leaf blades 2-3x longer than wide, mostly narrowly oblong-egg-shaped to broadly triangular-diamond shaped; fruits ± inflated, the outer wall separable from the seed (utricles)....chenopodium atrovirens S1 04b Leaf blades 3x longer than wide; fruits various

9 6a 05a Fruits not inflated, outer wall attached to seed (achenes), covered in wart-like bumps; seeds flattened on top.... Chenopodium hians SU...[Chenopodium incognitum] 05b Fruits ± inflated, outer wall separable from the seed (utricles), smooth; seed tops rounded.06 8a 8b 5a 6b 9a 06a Tepals spreading out from the fruit at maturity; stems erect, branched above or not at all, cm long; leaf blades sometimes with a pair of basal lobes... Chenopodium pratericola 06b Tepals enclosing the fruit at maturity; stems usually spreading, branched from the base, 10-14(60) cm long; leaf blades unlobed chenopodium desiccatum 07a Seeds honeycomb-pitted b Seeds smooth or irregularly dotted with tiny pits a Lower leaves smooth-edged or with 1-2 teeth/ lobes per side near the base; seeds mm, whitened... Chenopodium watsonii S2 08b Lower leaves with sharp, forward-pointing teeth and often with 2 basal lobes; seeds 1-2 mm, brown to black Chenopodium berlandieri 10a 09a Leaf blades egg-, diamond- or lance-shaped, longer than wide, edged with teeth and often also with basal lobes, side lobes (when present) smaller than the tip lobe Chenopodium album X 09b Leaf blades triangular, with basal lobes and no additional teeth b 10a Stems branched above (but not at the base), (10) cm tall; seeds mm, ± smooth....chenopodium fremontii S2 10b Stems profusely branched from the base, cm tall; seeds mm, wrinkled Chenopodium incanum S1 1a 2a CORISPERMUM Bugseed (kō-ri-sper-mum; kō-rē-sper-moom) 01a Achenes mm long, wingless or with a slight wing <0.15 mm wide corispermum villosum S2 01b Achenes mm long, with wings mm wide a Mature flower clusters linear (rarely narrowly club shaped), lax, usually with gaps from base to tip; leaf blades linear or thread-like Corispermum americanum S2 02b Mature flower clusters narrowly club-shaped to egg-shaped, dense/condensed near the tip; leaf blades lance-shaped to linear

10 3a 3b 1a 1b 1b 1a 1a 1b 03a Achenes wingless or with wings mm wide, usually strongly convex on the outer/ lower side and flat to strongly concave on the inner/upper side.. Corispermum hookeri S2 03b Achenes with wings (0.15) mm wide, slightly convex on the outer/lower side and flat to slightly concave on inner/upper side Corispermum pallasii OXYBASIS Sourfoot (ok-si-bā-sis; ok-soo-ba-sis) 01a Leaf blades lance-shaped to oblong, 5-40 x 3-15 mm, covered in whitish, mealy scales and with a waxy, bluish-white coating on the outer/lower side; flowers in dense, mm heads, interspersed with elliptic 2-10 x 1-5 mm bracts; stamens 1; fruits smooth-walled; seeds mostly horizontal (some vertical), wrinkled and/or dotted with pits.... Oxybasis glauca...[chenopodium salinum;...chenopodium glaucum] 01b Leaf blades triangular to diamond-shaped, x mm, without powdery scales or a pale coating; flowers in compact, 2-5 mm clusters, interspersed with linear 4-20 mm long bracts; stamens 2-3; fruits covered with netted ridges and/or dotted with pits; seeds mostly vertical( some horizontal), smooth Oxybasis rubra [Chenopodium rubrum] SALSOLA Russian-thistle (SAL-so-la) 01a Mature bracts erect, strongly overlapping, gradually tapered to an awl-shaped spine at the tip; fruiting spikes dense, without gaps; tepals wingless (rarely with a narrow, jagged wing ); stems usually erect, branched above or near the base.... Salsola collina X 01b Mature bracts bent sharply back, not overlapping, usually ± abruptly narrowed to a short, sometimes spine-like tip; fruiting spikes with gaps (at least in the lower half); tepals usually with thin, ± translucent wings; stems erect to ascending, usually branched at the base.salsola tragus X [Salsola kali, in part] SUAEDA Sea-blite (SWĀ-da; SWĪ-da) 01a Annual herbs; leaves tightly ascending (sometimes ± spreading); tepals hooded and keeled, unequal, 1(2) larger than the others; fruit wall easily removed from the seed Suaeda calceoliformis 01b Perennial shrubs or subshrubs (sometimes with a few annual plants); leaves ascending to widely spreading; tepals rounded (not hooded or keeled), equal in size; fruit wall difficult to remove...suaeda nigra [Suaeda moquinii] 10

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12 References Alberta Conservation Information Management System (ACIMS) List of all Vascular Plant Taxa Confirmed for Alberta as recorded in the ACIMS database - October ACIMS, Government of Albert, Edmonton, Alberta. Bassett, I.J., C.W. Crompton, J. McNeill and P.M. Taschereau The Genus Atriplex (Chenopodiaceae) in Canada. Monograph No. 31, Agriculture Canada. Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa, ON. Brouillet, L., F. Coursol, S.J. Meades, M. Favreau, M. Anions, P. Bélisle & P. Desmet VASCAN, the Database of Vascular Plants of Canada. Douglas, George W., Gerald B. Straley, Del Meidinger and Jim Pojar Illustrated Flora of British Columbia. Volume 1. Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons (Aceraceae through Asteraceae). British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC. Douglas, George W., Del Meidinger and Jim Pojar Illustrated Flora of British Columbia. Volume 2. Dicoyledons (Balsaminaceae through Cuscutaceae). British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC. Flora North America Association Flora North America Website. Online data accessed December 2015 to June efloras.org Looman, J. and K.F. Best Budd s Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Research Branch Agriculture Canada Publication Canadian Government Publishing Centre, Hull, PQ. Moss, E.H The Flora of Alberta. Second Edition, Revised by John G. Packer. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario. Province of Alberta Weed Control Act, Office Consolidation. Alberta Regulation 19/2010 with amendments up to and including Alberta Regulation 125/2016. Alberta Queen s Printer, Edmonton, AB. 12

13 Scientific Name Amaranthus albus Amaranthus blitoides Amaranthus californicus Amaranthus powellii Amaranthus retroflexus Atriplex argentea Atriplex canescens Atriplex dioica Atriplex gardneri Atriplex glabriuscula Atriplex heterosperma Atriplex hortensis Atriplex oblongifolia Atriplex patula Atriplex powellii Atriplex prostrata Atriplex rosea Atriplex suckleyi Atriplex truncata Axyris amaranthoides Bassia hyssopifolia Bassia scoparia Blitum capitatum Blitum nuttallianum Chenopodiastrum simplex Chenopodium album Chenopodium atrovirens Chenopodium berlandieri Chenopodium desiccatum Chenopodium fremontii Chenopodium hians Chenopodium incanum Chenopodium leptophyllum Chenopodium pratericola Chenopodium subglabrum Chenopodium watsonii Corispermum americanum List of Species and Illustration Sources Illus. Source Maywood BC BC ; Key to Illustration Sources ; Maywood B&B Maywood 13 Corispermum hookeri Corispermum pallasii Corispermum villosum Krascheninnikovia lanata Oxybasis glauca Oxybasis rubra Salicornia rubra Salsola collina Salsola tragus Sarcobatus vermiculatus Spinacia oleracea Suaeda calceoliformis Suaeda nigra Suckleya suckleyana ; ; B&B = Britton, N. L. and A. Brown An illustrated flora of the northern United States and Canada. reprinted by Dover Publications in 1970 edition. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York. = Hitchcock, C. L., A. Cronquist, M. Ownbey, and J. W. Thompson Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. Volume 5. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington. = Linda. Maywood = John Maywood. Prov. of BC = illustrations from the Illustrated Flora of British Columbia (Douglas et. al.), provided courtesy of the Province of British Columbia. Douglas, G. W., G. B. Straley, D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar Illustrated flora of British Columbia. Volume 1. Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons (Aceraceae through Asteraceae). British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Victoria, British Columbia.

14 Index Amaranthus 3 albus 5 blitoides 5 californicus 5 graecizans. See Amaranthus blitoides powellii 5 retroflexus 5 Atriplex 4, 5 aptera. See Atriplex gardneri argentea 6 canescens 5 dioica 7 gardneri 5 glabriuscula 7 hastata patula. See Atriplex patula heterosperma 7 hortensis 7 nuttallii. See Atriplex gardneri oblongifolia 7 patula 7 patula hastata. See Atriplex prostrata powellii 6 prostrata 7 rosea 6 subspicata. See Atriplex dioica suckleyi 6 truncata 6 Axyris amaranthoides 3 Bassia 4 hyssopifolia 8 scoparia 8 Blitum 5 capitatum 8 nuttallianum 8 Chenopodiastrum simplex 4 Chenopodium 4 album 9 atrovirens 8 berlandieri 9 capitatum. See Blitum capitatum desiccatum 9 fremontii 9 gigantospermum. See Chenopodiastrum simplex glaucum. See Oxybasis glauca hians 9 incanum 9 incognitum. See Chenopodium hians leptophyllum 8 pratericola 9 rubrum. See Oxybasis rubra salinum. See Oxybasis glauca simplex. See Chenopodiastrum simplex subglabrum 8 Chenopodium, in part. See Blitum; See Oxybasis Corispermum 4 americanum 9 hookeri 10 pallasii 10 villosum 9 Eurotia lanata. See Krascheninnikovia lanata Kochia. See Bassia scoparia. See Bassia scoparia Krascheninnikovia lanata 3 Monolepis nuttalliana. See Blitum nuttallianum Oxybasis 5 glauca 10 rubra 10 Salicornia europaea. See Salicornia rubra rubra 3 Salsola 3 collina 10 kali. See Salsola tragus tragus 10 Sarcobatus vermiculatus 3 Spinacia oleracea 4 Suaeda 3 calceoliformis 10 moquinii. See Suaeda nigra nigra 10 Suckleya suckleyana 4 14