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A TRIP LEX 
Atriplex littoralis L. Sp. Pl. 1054 ( 1753 ); Syme Eng. Bot. viii, 26 (1868); Ascherson und Graebner 
FI. Nordost. Flachl. 285 (1898); A. patula race littoralis Rouy FI. France xii, 35 (1910); A. erecta Hudson FI. 
Angl. 376 (1762) including A. littoralis , non Smith, nec Babington, nec omnium al. auctorum. 
leones: — FI. Dan. t. 1287; Sturm Deutsch. FI. 79, 12, as A. littoralis ; 80, 1, as A. marina. 
Exsiccata : — Billot, 2353, as A. littoralis ; Fries, v, 58; v, 59 1 [=var. serrata\ ; herb. E. S. Marshall, 786 
[= var. genuina] ; Reichenbach, 352; 1473, as A. marina ; Schultz et Winter, ii, 140; Wirtgen, ii, 88; xv, 838. 
Annual, more or less mealy. Root deep. Stem up to a metre high, usually rather stout, much 
branched, the lower branches erect from a decumbent base, the upper branches divaricate to 
suberect, up to 20 (usually 5 — 10) mm. in diameter at the base, green with pale reddish stripes. 
Petioles short or absent. Laminae linear to linear-oblong, entire or coarsely serrate or dentate, 
lower ones broader and attenuate at the base into a short petiole, upper ones sessile, often about 
10 — 15 times as long as broad. Inflorescence of long (up to 2dm.) spikes; spikes virgate, interrupted 
and rather leafy below. Pollen yellow. Bracteoles eventually triangular-ovate, often as broad as long, 
either muricate all over or with a smooth terminal lobe of varying length. Seeds about 1 — 2 mm. 
in diameter. 
Specimens vary greatly in size ; and various modifications occasionally occur. Some of these have the main stem 
prostrate, and the branches erect. Others have a simple, erect stem. The following varieties are usually described in floras; 
but the varietal characters may be found in any combination. 
(a) A. littoralis var. genuina Syme Eng. Bot. viii, 27 (1868). 
leones Syme Eng. Bot. t. 1200. 
Camb. Brit. FI. ii. Plate ijj. (a) Shoot with ripening fruits, (b) Lower part of shoot, (c) Mature 
bracteoles (enlarged). Isle of Wight (E. W. H.). 
Laminae thick, mealy, entire. Bracteoles eventually with short, smooth, terminal lobes with 
divergent tips. 
This is the common form of the coasts of Great Britain, as of Europe generally. 
(b) A. littoralis var. serrata Gray Nat. Arr. ii, 282 (1821); A. serrata Hudson FI. Angl. 377 (1762); 
A. marina L. Mant. ii, 300 (1771); A. littoralis var. marina Wahlenberg FI. Snec. ii, 661 (1826); Syme Eng. 
Bot. viii, 27 (1868); Ascherson und Graebner FI. Nordostd. Flachl. 285 (1898); A. patula race littoralis var. 
dentata Rouy FI. France xii, 35 (1910). 
leones : — Smith Eng. Bot. t. 708 as A. littoralis. 
Camb. Brit. FI. ii. Plate iyp (a) Flowering shoot. ( b ) Leaves from lower part of shoot. ( c ) Fruiting 
bracts (enlarged) enclosing the fruit. Hampshire (E. W. IL). 
Usually a larger and more branched plant than var. genuina , often about 6 — 7 dm. high. 
Laminae lanceolate to linear, rather more succulent, margin denticulate, serrate, or dentate. Bracteoles 
eventually muricate all over, tips appressed. 
Detharding ( Consp . Megalop. 24 (1828)) states that this variety is the stouter plant of the two, that in places where the 
remains of Algae have accumulated it grows to a length of 3 or 4 “ feet ” whilst var. genuina under the same circumstances 
remains normal, and that its bracts increase in size as they mature whilst those of var. genuina do not. 
On the other hand, Syme (op. cit. p. 28) states that the two varieties do not come true when grown from seed. 
There is, however, no evidence to show that Syme obtained his seeds by self-pollinating the plants from which he 
collected them ; and it is highly improbable that this necessary precaution was taken. Consequently, Syme’s observation 
is almost valueless, as the plants he obtained from his seeds may have been hybrids. 
Judging from what we ourselves have observed in nature, there is no doubt that plants may be found which conform 
to the descriptions of the two varieties, and there is no doubt that plants occur which combine the characters of the two. 
We believe that some, at all events, of the latter plants are hybrids of the two varieties. 
Isle of Wight and Hampshire to Northumberland. 
Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany, France, central Europe, Russia. 
A. littoralis is indigenous on the coasts of the British Isles, on the landward margins of salt 
marshes, on sea-walls, and in waste places near the sea ; from the Channel Islands, Cornwall, and 
Kent northwards to Orkney ; local in Scotland ; Ireland — counties Cork, Clare, Wexford, Wicklow, 
Dublin, Down, and Antrim. 
Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Austria-Hungary, southern Europe; 
western and central Asia. 
1 Many Danish specimens, and also many Scandinavian ones, differ from var. genuina Syme in being more slender 
and in having pale green and thin laminae: an example of the Danish form is depicted in FI. Dan. t. 1287, and is perhaps 
a distinct variety. 
