Atriplex are C-plants, with a characteristic leaf anatomy (kranz anatomy). The genus "Atriplex" is distributed nearly worldwide from subtropical to temperate and to subarctic regions. Most species-rich are Australia, North America, South America and Eurasia. Many species are halophytes and are adapted to dry environments with salty soils. The genus evolved in Middle Miocene, the C-photosynthesis pathway developed about 14.1-10.9 million years ago, when the climate became increasingly dry. The genus diversified rapidly and spread over the continents. The C"Atriplex" colonized North America probably from Eurasia during the Middle/Late Miocene, about 9.8-8.8 million years ago, and later spread to South America.
Mimicry in plants family. The mimetic species may still have pollinators of its own though, for example a Lamellicorn beetle, which usually pollinates correspondingly colored "Cistus" flowers, is also known to aid in pollination of "Ophrys" species that are normally pollinated by bees. Vavilovian mimicry (also known as crop mimicry or weed mimicry), named after Russian plant geneticist who identified the centres of origin of cultivated plants, Nikolai Vavilov, is a form of mimicry in plants where a weed comes to share one or more characteristics with a domesticated plant through generations of artificial selection. Selection against the weed may occur by killing