Tetragonia implexicoma

• Interesting Facts
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Aizoaceae

Herbs, annual or perennial , subshrubs , or shrubs , succulent. Stems erect or prostrate . Leaves simple , rarely pinnate, mostly opposite, sometimes alternate, in many species fleshy , margin entire, rarely with teeth; true stipules absent, sometimes a stipule-like sheath present at base of petiole . Inflorescences terminal or seemingly axillary cymes, or solitary flowers. Flowers bisexual , rarely unisexual , actinomorphic , perigynous or epigynous . Nectaries separate or in a ring around ovary. Tepals (4 or) 5( 8), connate below into a tube . Petals absent or present. Stamens 3 to many, free or connate at base, outermost often as filamentous staminodes; anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Ovary inferior, syncarpous ; carpels 2 to many; ovules 1 to many, on long funicles , mostly campylotropous; placentation axile or parietal , sometimes basal-parietal. Stigmas as many as carpels. Fruit a hygroscopic or circumscissile capsule, more rarely a berry or nut. Seeds with slender embryo curved around perisperm , rarely with an aril; endosperm scanty or absent.

About 135 genera and 1800 species: mainly in arid , subtropical regions, most species in S Africa, some in Australia and W parts of the Americas, some pantropical ; three genera and three species in China.

The family is divided into five subfamilies, of which two, Sesuvioideae and Tetragonioideae, are represented by native species in China.

Many members of the subfamilies Mesembryanthemoideae and Ruschioideae are ornamentals and are in cultivation worldwide. Until the early 20th century, these were nearly all included in the genus Mesembryanthemum. Since then, the majority of the members of that genus has been placed in a great number of smaller genera. Five species have been recorded as cultivated in China: Aptenia cordifolia (Linnaeus f.) Schwantes, Carpobrotus edulis (Linnaeus) L. Bolus, Glottiphyllum longum (Haworth) N. E. Brown, Lampranthus spectabilis (Haworth) N. E. Brown, and Mesembryanthemum crystallinum Linnaeus. Further species are likely to be introduced into China.

Tetragonia, together with the genus Tetragonocarpus, is sometimes treated as an independent family, the Tetragoniaceae. Sesuvium and Trianthema, together with Cypselea Turpin and Zaleya N. L. Burman, are sometimes treated as a separate family, the Sesuviaceae.[1]

Genus Tetragonia

Herbs [subshrubs ], annual or perennial , succulent, glabrous , pilose , or papillate . Roots fibrous . Stems prostrate [subscandent], semiwoody at base . Leaves cauline, alternate, usually petioled; stipules absent; blade flat, margins entire to slightly sinuate or shallowly lobed . Inflorescences: axillary clusters of 2-3 flowers or flowers solitary, sessile or peduncled; bracts absent. Flowers bisexual or unisexual , inconspicuous, 5[-10] mm diam.; calyx campanulate , adnate to ovary, angled , winged , or horned; calyx lobes [3-]4-5[-7], green or yellow adaxially; petals and petaloid staminodia absent; nectary absent; stamens 1-20, perigynous; pistil 3-10-carpellate; ovary inferior [half inferior], [1-]3-10-loculed; placentation apical; ovule 1 per locule; styles 3-10; stigmas 3-10. Fruits nutlike [drupaceous ], angled, indehiscent; horns [2-]4-6[-7]. Seeds 1-10, light brown, ± reniform , arils absent.

Species 60: introduced ; South America, e Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia.[2]

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of -7 meters (-22 feet).[3]

Biome: Coastal.

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 36-48" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun .

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Tetragonella implexicoma Miq.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Tetragonia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 3 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

T. tetragonioides (New Zealand Spinach) · T. tetragonoides (New Zealand Spinach) · T. trigyna (Kokihi Beach Spinach)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A contribution to the flora of Australia / by William Woolls. Sydney: F. White, 1867. url p. 119.
• A dictionary of English names of plants applied in England and among English-speaking people to cultivated and wild plants, trees, and shrubs, by William Miller; in two parts, English-Latin and Latin-English. London, J. Murray, 1884. url p. 128, p. 255.
• Forest culture and eucalyptus trees, San FranciscoCubery1876 url p. 419.
• Hooker, J. D. The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843: under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross /by Joseph Dalton Hooker. 3 1860 London: Reeve Brothers, 1844-60. url p. 148, p. lxiv.
• Illustrations of the New Zealand flora / edited by T.F. Cheeseman with the assistance of W.B. Hemsley; the plates drawn by Matilda Smith. Wellington: John Mackay, Govt. Printer, 1914. url p. 243.
• Journal of botany, British and foreign. 3 1865 London: Robert Hardwicke, 1863-1942. url p. 161.
• Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. Hobart, Tasmania, The Society. url p. 282.
• Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. Sydney, Linnean Society of New South Wales. url p. 549.
• Select extra-tropical plants readily eligible for industrial culture or naturalisation with indications of their native countries and some of their uses / by Baron Ferd. von Mueller. Melbourne: R. S. Brain, govt. printer, 1895. url p. 527, p. 633, p. 573.
• Select extra-tropical plants, readily eligible for industrial culture or naturalisation, with indications of their native countries and some of their uses. By Baron Ferd. von Mueller. .. Sydney, T. Richards, government printer, 1881. url p. 331, p. 396.
• Select plants (exclusive of timber trees) readily eligible for Victorian industrial culture with indications of their native countries and some of their uses; an enumeration / offered by Ferd. von Mueller. Melbourne: s.n., 1872 url p. 150.
• South Australian naturalist. AdelaideFelstead and Omsby. url p. 105, p. 110, p. 5.
• The Bradley bibliography; a guide to the literature of the woody plants of the world published before the beginning of the twentieth century; Cambridge, Riverside Press, 1911-18. url p. 194.
• The Gardeners' chronicle and agricultural gazette. 1864 London: published for the proprietors, 1844-1873. url p. 656.
• The Victorian naturalist. [Melbourne]Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. url p. 100, p. 138, p. 141, p. 167, p. 167, p. 69.
• The flora of the Northern Territory, Melbourne, McCarron, Bird & Co., Printers, 1917. url .
• The forage plants of Australia (with illustrations) By F. Turner, botanist to the Department of Agriculture. [Sydney]: G. S. Chapman, acting Government Printer, 1891. url p. 36.
• The rusts of Australia their structure, nature and classification / by D. McAlpine. Melbourne: Robt. S. Brain, government printer1906. url p. 173, p. 441, p. 445.
• The rusts of Australia, their structure, nature, and classification. Melbourne, Brain, 1906. url p. 173, p. 335, p. 339.
• The students' flora of New Zealand and the outlying islands. Wellington, N. Z., John Mackay, govt. printer[1899] url .
• The useful native plants of Australia, (including Tasmania) by J. H. Maiden. Sydney, Turner and Henderson, 1889. url p. 63.
• The vegetation of the Chatham Islands, Melbourne, J. Ferres, 1864. url , .
• Transactions and proceedings and report of the Royal Society of South Australia (Incorporated). Adelaide: W.C. Rigby, 1904-1911. url p. 261, p. 264.
• Transactions and proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia (Incorporated). Adelaide: W.C. Rigby, 1912-1937. url p. 107, p. 252, p. 8.
• Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, Incorporated. Adelaide: The Society, 1880- url p. 35.
• Lu Dequan. 1996. Aizoaceae (SesuviumTetragonia). In: Tang Changlin, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 26: 3036.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 31, 2007:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium
• GBIF-Sweden, Internation Botanical Collections
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• National Herbarium of New South Wales, NSW herbarium collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8684488
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14698720
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:85861-3
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 896198

Footnotes

1. Dequan Lu & Heidrun E. K. Hartmann "Aizoaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 440. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Nancy J. Vivrette "Tetragonia". in Flora of North America Vol. 4 Page 75, 76, 77. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. Standard Deviation = 185.190 based on 135 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.