{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = |genus = Atriplex |species = depressa |authority = Jeps. | status = G2 | status_system = TNC | status_ref = <ref name="TNC status 13 may 2022">{{cite web | url=https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ATDE3 | title=USDA Plants Database }}</ref> }}
'''''Atriplex depressa''''' is a species of saltbush known by the common names '''brittlescale''' and '''depressed orache'''. It is sometimes treated as a variety of ''Atriplex parishii''.<ref name="jep">http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?3084,3089,3104 Jepson</ref>
It is endemic to the Central Valley of California, where it grows in areas with saline and alkaline soils.<ref name="jep" />
This is a small annual herb producing low-lying stems up to about 20 centimeters long. It is whitish and scaly and brittle. The scaly white leaves are oval to heart-shaped, pointed, and less than a centimeter long each. The inflorescences hold male or female flowers, which are small, hard clusters of flowers.<ref name="jep" /> Can be found at elevations up to 320 meters, blooms between May and October.<ref>{{Cite book |title=California Native Plant Society's inventory of rare and endangered plants of California |date=2001 |others=David P. Tibor, Linda Ann Vorobik, California Native Plant Society. Rare Plant Scientific Advisory Committee |isbn=0-943460-40-9 |edition=Sixth edition, entirely revised and updated |location=[Sacramento, CA] |oclc=48089025}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=76507 Jepson Manual Treatment] *[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ATDE3 USDA Plants Profile] *[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242415542 Flora of North America] *[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Atriplex+depressa Photo gallery]
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q10952844|from2=Q23793754}}
depressa Category:Endemic flora of California Category:Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
{{Amaranthaceae-stub}}