Participant Info

Species

Atriplex micrantha [Atriplex heterosperma]

Family

Amaranthaceae

CommonName

twoscale saltbrush, Russian atriplex

Presence

Yes

Status

exotic

EarliestDate

2004

LatestDate

2022

Ecosystem

basin, shrubland, foothill, ruderal, urban

Geobotanical

UBasin, LBasin

Counties

Conejos, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Baca, Hot Creek, Russell Lakes

Other Localities

Del Norte

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Saguache Co, Baca NWR 17 Aug 2021; Rio Grande Co, Del Norte, 18 Sept 2018, 9 Sept 2022; Saguache Co, Russell Lakes NWA 26 Sept 2019; Rio Grande Co, by parking lot of the Family Dollar store in Del Norte, 2 Aug 2022

Comments

For twoscale saltbush there are six Basin vouchers, all from the Baca NWR or the Russell Lakes WPA; and there are two foothill records, a voucher from Hot Creek SWA (Conejos Co), and photorecords from Del Norte (Rio Grande Co). Currently this exotic plant may be spreading rapidly around Watershed. It is salt tolerant, and European plants have been observed growing at the sides of roads that were salted during the winter. In the Watershed, the earliest record is 2004, yet the species is now fairly common, for instance, in vacant lots in Del Norte. These Del Norte photorecords would add Rio Grande to counties indicated in Ackerfield (2022) and BONAP (2022). This exotic has not yet been collected farther south in the Rio Grande drainage than Taos Co, New Mexico.

Annotation