Interesting Facts
Description
Genus Zygophyllum
Perennial
, rarely annual
, diffusely branched, xerophytic
or halophytic undershrubs or prostrate
herbs. Leaves opposite, usually 1-2-foliolate, rarely more than 2-foliolate or simple
: stipules rarely thorny; leaflets
cylindrical or flat, usually fleshy
or leathery. Flowers solitary axillary
, pedicellate
, actinomorphic
, hypogynous, 4-5-merous, white or yellow, sometimes with a purple or red basal spot; disc fleshy, angular, cup-shaped or concave
. Sepals 4-5, persistent
or deciduous, imbricate. Petals 4-5, free
, with or without a claw
, imbricate or contorted. Stamens 8-10, inserted
at the base
of the disc, filaments
usually longer
than petals, filiform
, usually appendaged with a membranous scale within the base, rarely unappendaged, anthers
oblong-ovate to rotundate
. Carpels 4-5, united
; ovary sessile, 4-5-angled, (2.3-) 4-5-loculed, each locule with 2 or more, superposed
, pendulous ovules; style angular, stigma minute. Fruit 4-5-angled or winged
, septicidal
, loculicidal or indehiscent capsule, with 1 or more seeds in each locule. Seeds pendulous, endospermous; embryo straight with oblong
cotyledons.
A genus of about 100 species; distributed in deserts and steppes
from Mediterranean to Central Asia, South Africa and Australia.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Dicotyledons
- Subclass:
Rosidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Geranianae
()
- (Dumortier, 1829) Takhtajan, 1997
- Order:
Zygophyllales
()
- Takhtajan, 1997
- Suborder:
Zygophyllineae
()
-
- Family:
Zygophyllaceae
()
- R. Brown, in Flinders, 1814
- Subfamily:
Zygophylloideae
()
- Tribe:
Zygophylleae
()
- Genus:
Zygophyllum
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Beancaper
- Specific epithet:
mucronatum
- Maxim.
- Botanical name: - Zygophyllum mucronatum Maxim.
- Specific epithet:
mucronatum
- Maxim.
- Genus:
Zygophyllum
(
- Tribe:
Zygophylleae
(
- Subfamily:
Zygophylloideae
(
- Family:
Zygophyllaceae
(
- Suborder:
Zygophyllineae
(
- Order:
Zygophyllales
(
- Superorder:
Geranianae
(
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Publishing author
: Opiz Publication
: Natural. n. vi. (1824) 42
Publishing author: Maxim. Publication: Bull
. Acad. Petersb. xxvii.
(1881) 438.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Zygophyllum
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 4 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
Z. apiculatum (Common Twinleaf) · Z. aurantiacum (Shrubby Twinleaf) · Z. eremaeum (Climbing Twin-Leaf) · Z. fabago (Syrian Bean Caper)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 28 1943 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 641, p. 694, p. XIII.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8361252
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15910258
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:873642-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 873642-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1443138
Footnotes
- "Zygophyllum". in Flora of Pakistan Page 27. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
