Atriplex hymenelytra, the desert holly, is silvery-whitish-gray shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, native to deserts of the southwestern United States.Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert, Richard Spellenberg, 2nf ed, 2012,Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd ed. It is the most drought tolerant saltbush in North America. It can tolerate the hottest and driest sites in Death Valley, and remains active most of the year. The common name refers to the leaves that are shaped similar to holly, but the plants are not related. The toothed leaves and the small reddish fruits borne on the plant give it a passing resemblance to the unrelated European holly.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Atriplex hymenelytra has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens3
Marker genes3
eDNA detections2
Countries1
Marker genes sequenced
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★rbcLa★ITS★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualAtriplex hymenelytra carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy89% within 1 km
≤100 m 2 134≤1 km 240≤10 km 147>10 km 148
2 669 georeferenced · 1 110 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor3 779
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy56% within 1 km
≤100 m 73≤1 km 185≤10 km 187>10 km 15
460 georeferenced · 453 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence913
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions51 of 72 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Claremont, US
174
San Diego, US
144
Riverside, US
104
ASUlocation not on record
39
CASlocation not on record
34
Phoenix, US
28
Los Angeles, US
26
Santa Barbara, US
25
Henderson, US
23
US
20
Bronx, US
20
Davis, US
19
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
13
Arcata, US
13
San Francisco, US
12
San Luis Obispo, US
12
DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record
12
Flagstaff, US
11
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
7
Northridge, US
7
Ensenada, MX
7
Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record
6
Mexico City, MX
6
Irvine, US
5
Wuzhou, CN
5
Provo, US
5
San Jose, US
5
Logan, US
4
Orem, US
4
Arizona State University Biocollectionslocation not on record
4
Arizona Western Collegelocation not on record
3
EL PASO, US
3
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
3
Moscow, US
3
Angwin, US
3
Tampa, US
3
Chicago, US
3
Pocatello, US
2
Pullman, US
2
Hermosillo, MX
2
Boise, US
2
Leiden University Medical Centerlocation not on record
2
Fullerton, US
2
Oskarshamn, SE
2
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
2
Bangkok, TH
2
Long Beach, US
2
Santa Cruz, US
2
Berlin, DE
2
Saint Louis, US
2
Denver, US
2
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record
2
INFlocation not on record
2
Turlock, US
2
Fredericton Stock Culture Collectionlocation not on record
2
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (MNCR)location not on record
1
LDlocation not on record
1
Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalitionlocation not on record
1
Dekalb, US
1
Portland, US
1
San Diego Natural History Museumlocation not on record
1
Durango, MX
1
Austin, US
1
Wlocation not on record
1
Bloomington, US
1
San Diego Natural History Museum, Herbariumlocation not on record
1
Ashland, US
1
Caldwell, US
1
Durango, US
1
Mexico City, MX
1
La Paz, MX
1
New Mexico State Universitylocation not on record
1
72 institutions · 868 of 913 vouchered records shown · 45 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA2 detections
Where the DNA of Atriplex hymenelytra was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found2
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 2 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
Gravelly clay slopes
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median18.4 °C 18.4–18.4
Seasonal swing summer↔winter19.9 °C
Max temp (day)24.1 °C
Min temp (night)12.2 °C
Precipitation20.8 mm/mo
Air humidity42.8 %
Moisture balance-128 mm/mo
Vapour deficit1,213 Pa
Wind speed3.90 m/s
Cloud cover37.8 %
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 1 detection point · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation4 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility4 692 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI2 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics3 specimens↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗