Heartscale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Heartscale |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Atriplex
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| Species: |
cordulata
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Atriplex cordulata, also known as heartscale or heart-leaf orache, is a special type of saltbush. This plant is endemic, meaning it grows naturally only in one specific place. For heartscale, that place is the Central Valley and its San Joaquin Valley in California. It likes to grow in areas where the soil is salty or alkaline (which means it has a high pH level).
About the Heartscale Plant
Heartscale is an annual herb. This means it lives for only one growing season, from seed to flower to seed, and then dies. It usually grows one or more straight stems that can reach heights of about 10 to 50 centimeters (about 4 to 20 inches) tall.
What Heartscale Looks Like
The branches of the heartscale plant often look gray and scaly. Near their ends, they might have soft, woolly fibers. The leaves are also gray and scaly. They are quite small, usually less than 1.5 centimeters (about half an inch) long. Many of these leaves have a shape that looks like the bottom part of a heart.
Flowers and Seeds
The heartscale plant has both male and female flowers. These flowers grow in small, firm clusters, which are sometimes called inflorescences. After the flowers bloom, the plant produces reddish-brown seeds. These seeds are very tiny, only about 2 millimeters (less than a tenth of an inch) wide.
