Scientific name: Atriplex patula L.
Common name: Common Orache
Description
Habit: Annual, slightly mealy, to 100 cm high.
Stems: Erect or semi-erect, with spreading branches.
Leaves: Leaves short-stalked, lower ones opposite, upper ones alternate; more or less lanceolate, often with a single large tooth on each side near the base, tapered at the base.
Flowers: In long, loose, nearly leafless panicles, unisexual; male with 5 sepals and stamens; female without sepals but with 2 triangular or rhombic bracteoles, united about halfway to the base, each with a single large tooth on each side near the base, enlarging and enclosing the ovary and fruit; styles 2.
Fruits: A small nut.
Habitat: Cultivated fields, waste places and roadsides.
Distribution: Occasional and locally frequent on the limestone.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No