Jan 10, 2025
#2717 - Atriplex buchananii
The binomial is derived from an ancient Latin name which may have come from the Greek a-traphein - ‘without nourishment’ because many of species grow in arid deserts. John Buchanan (1819-1898) was a New Zealand botanist and scientific artist.
A short-lived chenopod found in open, salt-enriched, poorly draining clay or gravel strewn ground. It's most common in open turfs or gravel field near the high tide mark, on offshore islands in guano enriched soils or guano splattered rock. In Central Otago it grows in salt pans and slicks.
The main food plant for two endangered moths from inland Otago - Paranotoreas fulva and an undescribed Loxosteges.
Chapman Road Scientific Reserve, Aotearoa New Zealand.
