Monolepis

(Genus)

Herbs, annual, polygamous, ± farinose or glabrous. Stems arising from base, prostrate to ascending, not jointed, not armed, not fleshy; ultimate branches not filiform. Leaves alternate, succulent; blade triangular-lanceolate to oblanceolate or spatulate, base narrowly attenuate to cuneate, unlobed to hastate, margins sometimes with few teeth distally or completely entire, apex obtuse to rounded. Inflorescences 1-many-flowered glomerules in leaf axils. Flowers bisexual or pistillate; perianth segment usually 1 (2-3 in central flowers) or absent, bractlike, greenish; stamens 1(-2) or absent (in pistillate flowers) ; ovary superior; stigmas 2, connate proximally. Fruiting structures somewhat flattened utricles; pericarp loose when dry. Seeds vertical, lenticular; seed coat brown to black, smooth; embryo annular; perisperm copious. x = 9.

Species 5: temperate regions of w North America, c and ne Asia, s South America.^[1]

Photos

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Monolepis spathulata Monolepis spathulata Photographer: The William and Lynda Steere Herbarium Date Taken: 2007
Location Taken: Mono Pass, California, United States of America Copyright: © 2007 This image belongs to The New York Botanical Garden Virtual Herbarium. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 212481

Map

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Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae Cavalier-Smith, 1981 - Green Plants
    - Phylum: Magnoliophyta Cronquist, Takhtajan & W. Zimmermann, 1966 - Flowering Plants
      - Subphylum: Spermatophytina (auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Seed Plants
        Infraphylum: Angiospermae auct.
        Class: Magnoliopsida Brongniart, 1843 - Dicotyledons
        Subclass: Caryophyllidae Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Caryophyllanae Takhtajan, 1967
        Order: Caryophyllales Perleb, 1826
        Suborder: Chenopodiineae
        Family: Chenopodiaceae (ken-oh-poh-dee-AY-see-ay) Ventenat, 1799 - Goosefoot Family
        Subfamily: Chenopodioideae
        Tribe: Chenopodieae
        Genus: Monolepis Schrader, Index Seminum [Goettingen]. 1830: 4. 1830. - [Greek monos, solitary, and lepis, scale, for the typically solitary sepal]

The Genus Monolepis is further organized into finer groupings including:

Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 11 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Genus Monolepis: M. asiatica · M. chenopodioides · M. chenopodioides var. trifida · M. litwinowii · M. nuttaliana · M. nuttalliana (Monolepis) · M. patagonica · M. pusilla (Red Poverty-Weed) · M. pusillus · M. spathulata (Beaver Monolepis) · M. trifida

Footnotes

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Noel H. Holmgren "Monolepis". in Flora of North America Vol. 4 Page 261, 300. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Sources

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Last Revised: May 30, 2008