Blitum

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Blitum
Chenopodium capitatum Strawberry Blite 2048px.jpg
strawberry blite ( Blitum capitatum )
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Chenopodioideae
Tribe: Anserineae
Genus: Blitum
L.
Synonyms [1]
  • AgathophytumMoq. (1834), nom. superfl.
  • AnserinaDumort (1827)
  • CarocarpidiumS.C.Sand. & G.L.Chu (2017)
  • Chenopodium sect. Agathophytum(T. Nees) Benth. & Hook. f.
  • Chenopodium sect. AtriplicinaAellen
  • Chenopodium sect. Blitum(L.) Benth. & Hook f.
  • Chenopodium subg. Blitum(L.) Hiitonen
  • Chenopodium[unranked]CalifornicaStandl.
  • Chenopodium sect. Eublitum
  • MonolepisSchrad. (1830)
  • MorocarpusBoehmer (1760), nom. superfl.
  • Orthosporum subg. AgathophytumT. Nees
  • ScleroblitumUlbr. (1934)

Blitum is a genus of flowering plants in the amaranth family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. It is closely related to genus Spinacia . Its 12 species were traditionally placed in the genera Chenopodium , Monolepis, or Scleroblitum. The species of genus Blitum occur in Asia, Europe, North Africa, the Americas, and Australia.

Contents

Description

The species in genus Blitum are non-aromatic annual or perennial herbs. They are glabrous, or sometimes covered with stipitate vesicular hairs, young plants may be sticky. From the base emerge several erect, ascending or prostrate stems, that are unbranched or sparsely branched.

The alternate leaves consist of a petiole and a simple blade. The basal leaves are often long-petiolate and forming a rosette. The leaf blade is thin oder slightly fleshy, and may be triangular, triangular-hastate, triangular-lanceolate, or spathulate, with entire to dentate margins.

The inflorescences consist of spicately arranged compact glomerules of flowers, ebracteate or in the axils of small leaf-like bracts. Flowers are bisexual or pistillate. They contain (1) 3-5 herbaceous, unkeeled perianth segments, connate only at base or nearly to the middle, sometimes missing; a circle of 1-5 stamens; and an ovary with 2-4 stigmas.

In fruit, the perianth becomes either succulent or dry and hard. The pericarp is membranous and usually adhering to the vertically orientated, broadly ovate to orbicular seed. The seed coat is dark brown to black, its surface can be dull, almost smooth, slightly striate, rugulose, or reticulate.

Systematics and distribution

Good king henry (Blitum bonus-henricus) Chenopodium bonus-henricus ENBLA02.jpg
Good king henry ( Blitum bonus-henricus )
California goosefoot (Blitum californicum) Chenopodiumcalifornicum.jpg
California goosefoot ( Blitum californicum )
Nuttall's povertyweed (Blitum nuttallianum) Monolepis nuttalliana (6228342345).jpg
Nuttall's povertyweed ( Blitum nuttallianum )
leafy goosefoot (Blitum virgatum) Chenopodium foliosum.JPG
leafy goosefoot ( Blitum virgatum )

The genus Blitum was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum , Vol. 2, p. 4. [2] Type species is Blitum capitatum L. Since the second half of the 19th century, Blitum species were grouped into genus Chenopodium and treated as a subgenus, Chenopodium subgenus Blitum. Phylogenetic research revealed, that these species, as well as species of Monolepis and Scleroblitum, are more closely related to Spinacia , and do not really belong to Chenopodium. Therefore, Fuentes-Bazan et al. (2012) separated them as own genus Blitum. Together with Spinacia, the genus Blitum was grouped into tribe Anserineae (syn. Spinacieae).

Species

Blitum includes 12 species. [1]

Formerly placed here

Related Research Articles

<i>Blitum bonus-henricus</i> Species of flowering plant

Blitum bonus-henricus, also called Good-King-Henry, poor-man's asparagus, perennial goosefoot, Lincolnshire spinach, Markery, English mercury, or mercury goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot which is native to much of central and southern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chenopodioideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

The Chenopodioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae in the APG III system, which is largely based on molecular phylogeny, but were included – together with other subfamilies – in the family Chenopodiaceae, or goosefoot family, in the Cronquist system.

<i>Chenopodium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae

Chenopodium is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoot, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classification systems, notably the widely used Cronquist system, separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but this leaves the rest of the Amaranthaceae polyphyletic. However, among the Amaranthaceae, the genus Chenopodium is the namesake member of the subfamily Chenopodioideae.

<i>Blitum capitatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Strawberry blite is an edible annual plant, also known as blite goosefoot, strawberry goosefoot, strawberry spinach, Indian paint, and Indian ink.

<i>Oxybasis rubra</i> Species of flowering plant

Oxybasis rubra, common names red goosefoot or coastblite goosefoot, is a member of the genus Oxybasis, a segregate of Chenopodium. It is native to North America and Eurasia. It is an annual plant.

<i>Chenopodiastrum murale</i> Species of flowering plant

Chenopodiastrum murale, is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common names nettle-leaved goosefoot, Australian-spinach, salt-green, and sowbane. This plant is native to Europe and parts of Asia and northern Africa, but it is widespread worldwide, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas due to the ease of it being introduced. It is a common weed of fields and roadsides.

<i>Chenopodium candolleanum</i> Species of plant

Chenopodium candolleanum, commonly known as seaberry saltbush, is a shrub in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae, native to Australia.

<i>Chenopodium baccatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Chenopodium baccatum, commonly known as berry saltbush, is a species of shrub endemic to Western Australia.

Chenopodium benthamii is a species of shrub endemic to midwest Western Australia.

<i>Blitum virgatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Blitum virgatum, is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name leafy goosefoot. It is native to Eurasia. It can be found on other continents as an introduced species, growing as a minor weed in disturbed habitats and cultivated land.

<i>Blitum californicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Blitum californicum is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names California goosefoot and (ambiguously) "Indian lettuce".

<i>Oxybasis chenopodioides</i> Species of plant

Oxybasis chenopodioides is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common name saltmarsh goosefoot. It is native to Europe, Asia and parts of Africa, where it grows on bare mud in brackish hollows in coastal grassland, inland salt steppes and salty deserts. It has spread to similar habitats in both North and South America. Its habitat is an uncommon one and is threatened by agricultural improvement in many areas, but overall its populations are stable. This species often grows with, and is easily confused with the closely-related red goosefoot.

<i>Blitum nuttallianum</i> Species of flowering plant

Blitum nuttallianum, is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names povertyweed and Nuttall's povertyweed. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and common from Alaska to Mexico to New England. It can be found in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas, often favoring wet places. It is a fleshy annual herb producing two or more erect, reddish, hairless stems up to about 40 centimeters tall. The thick lance-shaped or arrowhead-shaped leaves are up to 4 centimeters in length. Clusters of several rounded flowers each appear in the leaf axils and yield small fruits about 2 millimeters wide.

<i>Micromonolepis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Micromonolepis pusilla, is the only species of the genus Micromonolepis in the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, known by the common names small povertyweed and red povertyweed. It is native to the Western United States, including the Great Basin and surrounding areas, where it grows in sandy scrub, dry valleys, playas, and other open habitat. It is a somewhat fleshy annual herb producing a branching, slender stem that has a mealy whitish texture when young and turns dull to bright red with age, losing its grainy coat. It grows up to 14 to 20 centimeters tall. The thick oblong leaves are up to a centimeter long. Clusters of 1 to 3 minute flowers appear in the leaf axils, each flower made up of 3 tiny sepals.

<i>Spinacia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the amaranth family Amaranthaceae

Spinacia is a flowering plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. The most common member is spinach.

<i>Oxybasis glauca</i> Species of flowering plant

Oxybasis glauca, common name oak-leaved goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot plant native to Europe. It has been introduced and become an invasive weed in North America. This invader of European origin also appears in trampled communities in North Korea.

<i>Chenopodium parabolicum</i> Species of plant

Chenopodium parabolicum, commonly known as fragrant saltbush or mealy saltbush, is a shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. The species is native to Australia.

<i>Chenopodiastrum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Chenopodiastrum is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus was formally described in 2012. The 5 species occur in Eurasia, North Africa, and North America.

<i>Oxybasis</i> Genus of plants

Oxybasis is a flowering plant genus from the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It was first described in 1841, and newly used since 2012 for five species that were traditionally grouped into genus Chenopodium. They occur in Europe, Asia, North Africa and America.

<i>Lipandra</i> Genus of flowering plants

Lipandra polysperma, common name manyseed goosefoot, is the only species of the monotypic plant genus Lipandra from the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae.

References

  1. 1 2 Blitum L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  2. Species Plantarum at BHL
  3. "Blitum asiaticum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  4. "Blitum atriplicinum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  5. "Blitum bonus-henricus". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  6. "Blitum californicum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. "Blitum capitatum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. "Blitum korshinskyi". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  9. "Blitum litwinowii". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  10. "Blitum nuttallianum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  11. "Blitum petiolare". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  12. "Blitum virgatum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.