Sometimes I get stuck.
In this case, I am fixated on a botanist named Boucher and, after much research, am at a loss to discover the identity of this scientist. Stubbornly I kept at it, but to no avail.
Maybe Boucher is mostly lost to history, or maybe my investigative abilities are amiss, but there was one man who knew of and honored him. Augustin Pyrame de Candolle put Boucher in the scientific literature (and in my brain and column) when he credited Boucher with the naming and documentation of at least one plant.
Official scientific nomenclature includes an abbreviation for the scientist that first documented a species. In this case, the attribution to “Boucher ex DC” provides the initial mystery. While I could not find the identity of Boucher, DC is the code of the aforementioned Augustin Pyrame de Candolle.
de Candolle is known in taxonomic circles as the guy who published the Elementary Theory of Botany (1813), which introduced a system grounded on anatomy not physiology as the basis for organismal classification. He, in fact, is credited with coining the term “taxonomy.”
The plant that led me to these scientists and their stories (or absence of a story) is creeping saltbush. Atrlplex prostrata is the one of few species that I could find that has its name and its taxonomic credit listed as Boucher ex DC.
And what of this small salty species found in the marsh? To start, creeping saltbush goes by many names not given by either botanist. It has been called spear-leafed orache, hastate orache, thin-leaf orache, triangle orache and fat hen (though this describes more than one leafy green species). Those names make clear the shape of its foliage, which is what caught my eye.
Living in the salt marsh tells you a few things about this plant. Called a facultative halophyte (salt-loving), it can tolerate high levels of salinity, is able to retain salt in its leaves, and can grow in salty environs. Salt is removed by concentrating it on the leaf’s surface, and the excess can appear as white dots, akin to dandruff, on the leaves.
This plant is curiously listed as native and nonnative. According to the Native Plant Trust, the creeping saltbush you see in coastal areas is native, while ones more inland or located in disturbed areas are nonnative (though they appear to have the same scientific name). The nonnatives ones were purportedly brought to this country in ballast on ships and spread via birds and other wildlife.
This and other related species or orache are known for their edibility. Saltbush can be foraged and used raw in salad and cooked as a potherb, comparable to spinach. But be wary from where you harvest it, as it is plentiful on roadsides and other industrial areas — absorbing the nutrients and runoff you don’t want to ingest.
Fall will bring this plant into closer focus, as it does exhibit some favorite autumnal colors, turning purple, gold, orange and red with the change of seasons. Take a look and consider that sometimes the discovery eclipses the discoverer: at least for this native-or-nonnative plant which is better known than the elusive, anonymous Boucher.
Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.