Male flowers, fruiting bodies, and leaves (ssp. macrocystidia). Photographer Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Leaves, male flowers, and fruiting bodies (ssp. macrocystidia). Photographer Russell Best, Murray Sunset National Park, Vic

Male flowers. Unknown photographer, Trust for Nature, Ned's Corner Station, Lake Cullulleraine, Vic

Shrub (ssp. macrocystidia). Photographer Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Common Name

Bladder Saltbush

Family

Chenopodiaceae

Notes

Shrub to 1m tall, or sprawling.  Leaves 0.5-2.5cm long, 3-15mm wide, flat, scurfy or scaly; the edges entire, occasionally toothed, tips pointed or blunt.  Male and female flowers usually on different plants, sometimes on the same plant.  Flowers tiny (less than 3mm across), male flowers in clusters forming interrupted panicles or spikes at the tops of the stems, female flowers solitary or in clusters of 2 to many at the bases of the upper leaves. Ssp. macrosystidia and ssp. minor poorly known Vic.

Subspecies are not recognised in SA. 

In Atriplex vesicaria ssp. vesicaria, the bladder of the fruiting body is obvious, the relatively large flat parts of the fruiting body are not fused to each other, and the leaves are 2-3cm long and 3-5mm wide.

In Atriplex vesicaria ssp. calcicola, the fruiting body is flattish, with the bladder not obvious.

In Atriplex vesicaria ssp. macrocystidia, the bladder of the fruiting body is relatively large, and the flat parts of the fruiting body  are small and often fused to each other.

In Atriplex vesicaria ssp. minor, the bladder of the fruiting body is obvious, the flat parts of the fruiting body are large in relation to the bladder and not fused to each other, and the leaves are about 1cm long and 2mm wide.

Description and photo of Atriplex vesicaria (page 246), and line drawing of fruiting body of Atriplex vesicaria ssp. macrocystidia (not named as such) (page 242 Fig. 44-32) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales. 

PlantNET description with line drawings and photos:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Atriplex~vesicaria