Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Core Eudicots >  Order: Caryophyllales >  Family: Amaranthaceae; >  Subfamily: Chenopodioideae

About 250 species, found worldwide, mainly in arid, saline or disturbed habitats in temperate and tropical regions. There are 12 species native to southern Africa , four naturalised, and an additional eight species that have been cultivated in the region.

Species native to southern Africa

List from Makgakga (2003).

Atriplex amboensis
Atriplex cinerea
Atriplex erosa
Atriplex hortensis (Orache)
Atriplex littoralis
Atriplex nitens
Atriplex patula
Atriplex rosea
Atriplex semibaccata
Atriplex suberecta
Atriplex vestita

Species naturalised in southern Africa

Atriplex eardleyae
Atriplex lindleyi subsp. inflata A declared Category 3 invasive plant in South Africa.
Atriplex lindleyi subsp. quadripartita
Atriplex muelleri
Atriplex nummularia (Old man saltbush) Atriplex nummularia is native to Australia and has been introduced to arid and semi-arid areas of the world, including southern Africa, where it has become naturalised and is also grown as a fodder plant. It is a declared Category 2 invasive plant in South Africa, which means that it can only be cultivated in certain demarcated areas with permission. It grows as a bush, reaching 2 m in height and 2.4 m wide.
Atriplex spongiosa

Other species, cultivated in southern Africa

List from Glen (2002).

Publications

• Glen, H.F. 2002. Cultivated Plants of Southern Africa. Jacana, Johannesburg.

• Makgakga, M.C. 2003. Chenopodiaceae. In Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds), Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14: 362-369. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.