1. Atriplex hortensis L. (C-As.) – A regular but always ephemeral alien. The first Belgian collections date back to 1859 and 1860 (Gent and Leuven) but probably recorded in the wild well before that time since it is cultivated as a vegetable since quite a long time. Formerly exceptionally recorded in the valley of river Vesdre but probably not as a wool alien. In the past decades sometimes associated with grain importation. However, by far most records are from dumps or near gardens and are obviously escapes from cultivation. Atriplex hortensis is still sometimes grown in gardens as an ornamental or as a leaf-vegetable. A red-leaved form is sometimes sown along newly constructed road verges or on fallow land. Such plants belong with var. rubra Roth (see Jäger & al. 2008 for further varieties).
Atriplex hortensis is by far the commonest of the tall Atriplex-species with thin, orbicular fruiting bracteoles that are free to base. However, it is widely confused with Atriplex sagittata (its putative parent) and, to some extent, with A. micrantha.
Selected literature:
Jäger E.J., Ebel F., Hanelt P. & Müller G. (eds.) (2008) Rothmaler Band 5. Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Krautige Zier- und Nutzpflanzen. Springer Verlag, Berlin: 880 p.
Suchorukow A.P. (2007) Zur Systematik und Chorologie der in Russland und den benachbarten Staaten (in den Grenzen der ehemaligen USSR) vorkommenden Atriplex-Arten (Chenopodiaceae). Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 108B: 307-420.