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Salsola androssowii deserticola

Description

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Family Chenopodiaceae

Herbs annual , subshrubs , or shrubs , rarely perennial herbs or small trees . Stems and branches sometimes jointed (articulate ) ; indumentum of vesicular hairs (furfuraceous or farinose ), ramified (dendroid), stellate , rarely of glandular hairs, or plants glabrous . Leaves alternate or opposite, exstipulate , petiolate or sessile; leaf blade flattened, terete , semiterete, or in some species reduced to scales . Flowers monochlamydeous , bisexual or unisexual (plants monoecious or dioecious, rarely polygamous) ; bracteate or ebracteate . Bractlets (if present) 1 or 2, lanceolate, navicular , or scale-like. Perianth membranous, herbaceous, or succulent, (1-) 3-5-parted; segments imbricate, rarely in 2 series, often enlarged and hardened in fruit, or with winged , acicular , or tuberculate appendages abaxially, seldom unmodified (in tribe Atripliceae female flowers without or with poorly developed perianth borne between 2 specialized bracts or at base of a bract) . Stamens shorter than or equaling perianth segments and arranged opposite them; filaments subulate or linear , united at base and usually forming a hypogynous disk, sometimes with interstaminal lobes ; anthers dorsifixed , incumbent in bud, 2-locular, extrorse , or dehiscent by lateral , longitudinal slits, obtuse or appendaged at apex. Ovary superior, ovoid or globose , of 2-5 carpels, unilocular ; ovule 1, campylotropous; style terminal , usually short, with 2(-5) filiform or subulate stigmas, rarely capitate, papillose , or hairy on one side or throughout. Fruit a utricle, rarely a pyxidium (dehiscent capsule) ; pericarp membranous, leathery, or fleshy , adnate or appressed to seed. Seed horizontal, vertical , or oblique , compressed globose, lenticular , reniform , or obliquely ovoid; testa crustaceous , leathery, membranous, or succulent; embryo annular , semi-annular, or spiral , with narrow cotyledons; endosperm much reduced or absent; perisperm abundant or absent.

Probably about 100 genera and 1400 species (depending on taxonomic opinions ) : mainly in arid areas, deserts, and coastal and saline habitats of N and S Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America; 42 genera (two endemic, two introduced ) and 190 species (21 endemic, six introduced) in China.

Many species of Chenopodiaceae are adapted to, and are major components of, arid or ruderal environments. They are often intimately involved with the daily life of people. For example, Beta vulgaris is one of the most important sources for sugar ; Chenopodium quinoa is a new high-protein crop ; Spinacia oleracea and Beta vulgaris are excellent vegetables; Dysphania ambrosioides and Salsola collina are used medicinally; seeds of Agriophyllum squarrosum are called "sand-rice" locally and are edible; seeds of Corispermum declinatum are used for making gin; the ash of Halogeton arachnoideus and some species of Salsola contains soda which is used in noodle-making; and Anabasis aphylla can be used as an insecticide . Many species are important as animal forage in desert, semidesert, and steppe regions, and some species make good windbreaks and soil binders. Haloxylon ammodendron has been used extensively in biological reconditioning of the desert.Gelin Zhu, Sergei L. Mosyakin & Steven E. Clemants "Chenopodiaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 352. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Genus Salsola

Herbs, annual , or subshrubs [shrubs and small trees ], glabrous , or ± pubescent or hispid . Stems erect , ascending , or prostrate , branched (rarely simple ), not jointed , not armed , not fleshy . Leaves mostly alternate (rarely opposite, especially proximal ones), sessile; blade lanceolate, linear , or filiform to subulate , semiterete, margins entire basally, apex obtuse , soft and subspinescent or narrowed to spine or soft bristle . Inflorescences spicate , flowers solitary in axils of bracts or reduced distal leaves (rarely 2-3-flowered with lateral flowers poorly developed) ; bracts ovate-lanceolate, spine-tipped. Flowers bisexual , with 2 bracteoles; perianth segments persistent , 5, covering utricle at maturity, often developing transverse , dorsal, membranous or ± coriaceous wing (sometimes only 2-3 segments winged , sometimes wingless or nearly so) ; stamens 5; styles and stigmas 2 (or 3). Fruits utricles, covered by perianth segments at maturity; pericarp adherent . Seeds usually horizontal, orbicular ; seed coat black or brown; perisperm absent. x = 9.

Species ca. 130: introduced ; almost worldwide, Mediterranean region, arid and coastal zones of Eurasia ; n, e, s Africa.

In this treatment, a rather broad and traditional generic concept is accepted for Salsola, including Caroxylon and other segregate genera. It is evident that Salsola in the traditional sense should be regarded as a group of genera rather than a natural monophyletic genus. V. I. Pyankov et al. (2001) recently discussed phylogenetic relationships inferred from parsimony analysis of nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) of the 18S-26S nuclear ribosomal DNA of 34 species of Salsola and related genera (Halothamnus Jaubert & Spach, Climacoptera Botschantzev, Girgensohnia Bunge, Halocharis Moquin-Tandon, and Haloxylon Bunge) and four species from representative outgroups (tribes Camphorosmeae and Atripliceae). The study confirmed that Salsola sensu lato is polyphyletic, with several currently recognized related genera rooted within the group. Results of the V. I. Pyankov et al. study also contradict V. P. Botschantzev€™s (1969) hypothesis of a South African origin of Salsola sensu lato and place the "cradle" of the genus in central Asia. A comparative taxonomic and phytogeographic analysis (S. L. Mosyakin 2002) also suggests the place of origin of the Salsola generic aggregate is somewhere in the Tethyan region of south-central Asia (probably northern coasts of the ancient Tethys, or adjacent inland lacustrine habitats). Almost all North American taxa belong to Salsola sensu stricto . Species of Salsola sect. Caroxylon (Thunberg) Fenzl, which is represented in North America only by the introduced S. vermiculata, may be recognized in the distinct genus Caroxylon Thunberg following a comprehensive study of the group worldwide.Sergei L. Mosyakin "Salsola". in Flora of North America Vol. 4 Page 260, 261, 340, 351,. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Taxonomy

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Similar Species

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Members of the genus Salsola

There are approximately 567 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

S. abarghuensis · S. abolinii · S. abrotanoides · S. acanthoclada · S. acicularis · S. acocksii · S. acuminata · S. acutifolia · S. adisca · S. adversariifolia · S. aegaea · S. aegyptiaca · S. aellenii · S. aethiopica · S. affinis · S. afghanica · S. africana · S. agrigentina · S. albida · S. albisepala · S. algeriensis · S. alopecurioides · S. altaica · S. altissima · S. amblyostegia · S. anatolica · S. androssowii · S. androssowii deserticola · S. androssowii subsp. deserticola · S. angolensis · S. angularis · S. angusta · S. annularis · S. anomala · S. anonyma · S. aperta · S. aphylla · S. aphylloides · S. apiciflora · S. aptera · S. apterygea · S. arabica · S. aralensis · S. araneosa · S. arborea · S. arborescens · S. arbuscula · S. arbusculaeformis · S. arbusculiformis · S. arenaria · S. armata · S. arnata · S. aroabica · S. articulata · S. asparagoides · S. atrata · S. atriplicifolia · S. atriplicis · S. aucheri · S. aurantiaca · S. auricula · S. auriculata · S. australis var. strobilifera · S. autrani · S. azaurena · S. baccata · S. baccifera · S. badghysi · S. bamianica · S. baranovii · S. barbata · S. barrilla · S. baryosma · S. baryosma gaetula · S. baryosma subsp. gaetula · S. barysoma · S. beticolor · S. boissieri · S. bornmuelleri · S. botschantzevii · S. bottae · S. brachiata · S. brachyphylla · S. brachypteris · S. brevifolia · S. bucharica · S. buhseana · S. bungeana · S. buxifolia · S. caesia · S. caffra · S. calluna · S. camphorosmoides · S. campyloptera · S. cana · S. candida · S. canescens · S. canescens serpentinicola · S. canescens subsp. serpentinicola · S. capensis

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-10-23