| Author | Rafinesque | |
| Distribution | Outer Banks and southern outer Coastal Plain; no known records yet north of southern Dare County (Outer Banks), though it ranges north to NH.
Maritime -- NH to FL and TX. | |
| Abundance | Poorly known, and there is much similarity between this species and the range-overlapping A. pentandra. Perhaps uncommon; seemingly somewhat less numerous than that species. | |
| Habitat | Upper portions of ocean beaches, among sparse grasses in low dunes, sandspits, bare spots in brackish marshes, margins of waterfowl impoundments. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting July - November. | |
| Identification | Northern Seabeach Orach has wide-spreading branches that may be prostrate, ascending, or even erect. Leaves are alternate, narrowly elliptical to narrowly ovate. Small clusters (glomerules) of flowers grow in leaf axils and also terminally. From the very closely related A. pentandra, it can be told by its longer bracts of the fruits (4.5-7 mm vs. 2.5-4.5 mm) and which are longer than wide (vs. as wide or wider than long). | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Formerly treated as A. arenaria in part; or A. pentandra ssp. arenaria.
Members of the genus are most often found in saline to brackish sands. Male flowers usually produce petals, but females do not; in any event they are very small and not at all showy. Weakley's (2018) key must be used with care, and a dissecting scope is almost essential for successful identification. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Crested Saltbush, Seabeach Orach. Both names are used for both this species and the very similar A. pentandra; this website uses Northern for the first and Southern for the second species. | |
| State Rank | S2? | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FAC link |
| USACE-emp | FAC link |
