Leaf
Lucyin, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mediterranean saltbush
Atriplex halimus L.
Also known as: Sea orache, Shrubby orache
Family: Amaranthaceae
2 to 3 m tall
Mediterranean and Atlantic shores, dunes, saline waste ground and seaside windbreak hedges
Flowering: June - August
Full sun
Hardy to -12°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its silvery grey foliage tolerates salt so well that it sometimes grows with its roots almost in seawater.
🍃 Leaves
Evergreen, small, ovate-rhombic, silvery grey, slightly fleshy
🌸 Flowers
Tiny greenish flowers without petals, grouped in inconspicuous clusters
🍎 Fruits
Small achenes enclosed by two bracts, barely visible
🪵 Bark
Pale grey shoots, dense bushy habit
🗺️ Distribution
Mediterranean basin and, as a subspontaneous plant, on the French Atlantic coast
🐝 Value for pollinators
Inconspicuous flowering, wind-pollinated, of no particular interest to pollinators
✂️ Horticultural uses
Widely used as a seaside windbreak hedge for its exceptional tolerance of sea spray, salt and drought
🌿 Other Amaranthaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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