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Old-man Saltbush
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| Old-man Saltbush photos | Family: Saltbush (Chenopodiaceae) |
| Scientific Name: | Atriplex nummularia |  Young fruit of Old-man Saltbush Photo: A J Brown | ||||||||
Other Common Names: | Giant Saltbush, Cabbage Saltbush | |||||||||
Status: | Native to inland Australia. | |||||||||
Plant Description: | Large grey shrub to 2 m tall and to 4-5 m wide, with brittle woody branches. Leaves scaly, shortly stalked, almost circular to broadly ovate, 10-25 mm long. Plants dioecious with flowers in panicles at the ends of branches. Fruiting body stalkless, nearly round to more or less fan-shaped and 5-8 mm long. | |||||||||
Habitat: | Naturally grows on heavy textured soils on flats and depressions.
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Comments: | Confined to the far north-west in the natural state but occasionally grown in plantations elsewhere as fodder for livestock. Has moderate salt tolerance but does not survive extended waterlogging. Good drought resistance due to a deep root system and can withstand heavy grazing, once well established. Variable palatability. Leaves contain up to 28% salt. Has been used in the past as hedges, windbreaks and firebreaks. |
 Female flowers in leaf axils of Old-man Saltbush Photo: A J Brown |  Old mature fruit of Old-man Saltbush Photo: A J Brown |
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Photo: A J Brown |
