Halostachys

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Halostachys
Halostachys caspica; Baikonur 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Salicornioideae
Genus: Halostachys
C.A.Mey. ex Schrenk
Species:
H. caspica
Binomial name
Halostachys caspica
(M.Bieb.) C.A.Mey. [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Arthrocnemum belangerianum Moq.
  • Arthrocnemum caspicum(M.Bieb.) Moq.
  • Halocnemum caspicumM.Bieb.
  • Halostachys belangeriana(Moq.) Botsch.
  • Halostachys songaricaSchrenk
  • Salicornia caspicaPall.

Halostachys is a genus of flowering plants in the plant family Amaranthaceae, containing a single species, Halostachys caspica. The plants are small to medium halophytic shrubs with apparently jointed fleshy stems and scale-like leaves. They are native to western and central Asia and northern China. [1]

Contents

Description

Halostachys caspica grows as a shrub to 1–3 m height and width. The erect stems are much branched, older twigs are mostly leafless. The young twigs are blue-green, fleshy, apparently jointed (articulated), with glabrous fine papillose surface. The opposite leaves are fleshy, glabrous, connate basally and surrounding the stem (thus forming the joints), with very short scale-like triangular blades. [2] [3] [4]

The inflorescences consist of numerous opposite lateral cylindrical spikes, 15-30 × 2–5 mm, on jointed peduncles. Groups of three bisexual flowers are sitting in the axils of rhombic-quadrate bracts. [2] The opposite bracts are not connate to each other. [5] The obovoid to obpyramidal perianth consists of three connate tepals, the apex with three incurved lobes. There is one stamen exserting the flower. The ovoid ovary bears two subulate papillate stigmas. The flowering and fruiting phase reaches from July to November. [2] [3] [4]

The fruit is enclosed by the fleshy, somewhat inflated, three-angled, shiny perianth. The fruit wall (pericarp) is membranous. The erect seed is oblong and red-brown, containing the half-annular embryo and copious perisperm (feeding tissue). [2] [3] [4]

Systematics

The genus Halostachys was first published in 1843 by Alexander von Schrenk. [6] At that time, the genus comprised three species (Halostachys caspica, Halostachys nodulosa, and Halostachys songarica). The name had been introduced by Carl Anton von Meyer in 1838 (as "Halostachys caspia"), but without giving a genus description. In 1874, Halostachys songarica was chosen as the lectotype of the genus. But this was problematic, as in 1866 Halostachys songarica and H. nodulosa had been transferred to the genus Halopeplis by Franz Ungern-Sternberg. Mikko Piirainen (2015) proposed to conserve the name Halostachys with the conserved type Halostachys caspica, [7] (of which Halostachys belangeriana is a synonym). [8]

Today Halostachys includes just one species, Halostachys caspica(Moq.) Botsch.. [4] [9] [10] The earliest description of this species was made in 1771 by Peter Simon Pallas as Salicornia caspicaPall., but this name is illegitimate (as Salicornia caspica L. existed already since 1753). The synonyms Halocnemum caspicum(Pall.) M.Bieb., Halostachys caspia(Pall.) C.A.Mey. (nom. inval.), Halostachys caspica(Pall.) C.A.Mey. ex Schrenk, and Arthrocnemum caspicum(Pall.) Moq. (p.p., nom. confus.) are all based on this illegitimate name. [3] Halostachys caspica is now a conserved name.

Phylogenetic research confirmed that Halostachys is closely related to the genus Halocnemum . [5]

Distribution and habitat

The distribution area of Halostachys caspica reaches from Southeast Europe, Caucasus (Russia, Armenia, eastern Turkey), Southwest Asia (northern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan), Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Mongolia) to Xinjiang and western Gansu (China). [2] [3] [4]

The plants are halophytes and grow in salt marshes, salty and alkaline mudflats, salty ditches, in dry river beds, [2] and along the shores of salt lakes. [4]

Uses

Halostachys caspica grows under extreme ecological conditions, and is a good fodder plant for the sustainable development on salty soils. The best fodder quality is achieved during the flowering phase. [10] Economically important phytochemicals are flavonoids with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amaranthaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus Amaranthus. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it the most species-rich lineage within its parent order, Caryophyllales.

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

Salicornia is a genus of succulent, halophytic flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. Salicornia species are native to North America, Europe, central Asia, and southern Africa. Common names for the genus include glasswort, pickleweed, picklegrass, and marsh samphire; these common names are also used for some species not in Salicornia. To French speakers in Atlantic Canada, they are known colloquially as titines de souris. The main European species is often eaten, called marsh samphire in Britain, and the main North American species is occasionally sold in grocery stores or appears on restaurant menus as sea beans, samphire greens or sea asparagus.

Sarcocornia is a formerly recognized genus of flowering plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. Species are known commonly as samphires, glassworts, or saltworts. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that when separated from Salicornia, the genus is paraphyletic, since Salicornia is embedded within it, and Sarcocornia has now been merged into a more broadly circumscribed Salicornia. When separated from Salicornia, the genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and is most diverse in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.

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

The Salicornioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae. Important characters are succulent, often articulated stems, strongly reduced leaves, and flowers aggregated in thick, dense spike-shaped thyrses. These halophytic plants are distributed worldwide. Many are edible

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

The Salsoloideae are a subfamily of the Amaranthaceae, formerly in family Chenopodiaceae.

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

Halogeton is a plant genus of the family Amaranthaceae. The genus name, Halogeton, derives from the Greek words for "salt" and for "neighbor."

<i>Suaeda</i> Genus of aquatic plants

Suaeda is a genus of plants also known as seepweeds and sea-blites. Most species are confined to saline or alkaline soil habitats, such as coastal salt-flats and tidal wetlands. Many species have thick, succulent leaves, a characteristic seen in various plant genera that thrive in salty habitats.

<i>Salsola</i> Genus of plants

Salsola is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus sensu stricto is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus and related genera is saltwort, for their salt tolerance. The genus name Salsola is from the Latin salsus, meaning "salty".

<i>Salicornia quinqueflora</i> Species of plant

Salicornia quinqueflora, synonym Sarcocornia quinqueflora, commonly known as beaded samphire, bead weed, beaded glasswort or glasswort, is a species of succulent halophytic coastal shrub. It occurs in wetter coastal areas of Australia and New Zealand.

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

Bassia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. They are distributed in the western Mediterranean to eastern Asia. Some occur outside their native ranges as introduced species.

<i>Anabasis</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Anabasis is a genus of plants in the subfamily Salsoloideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It is distributed in southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia.

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

Kalidium is a genus of flowering plants in the plant family Amaranthaceae. The species are shrubby halophytes distributed in Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia and Central Asia to China.

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

Halimione is a plant genus from the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It is a sister genus of Atriplex and is included in that genus by Plants of the World Online.

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

Heterostachys is a genus of flowering plants in the plant family Amaranthaceae. The two species are shrubby halophytes native to South America and Central America.

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

Allenrolfea is a genus of shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus was named for the English botanist Robert Allen Rolfe. There are three species, ranging from North America to South America.

Arthrocnemum was a genus of shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. Two or three species were included in the genus. They are halophytes with fleshy, apparently articulated plant stems and reduced leaves and flowers.

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

Halocnemum is a genus of halophytic shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. The plants are fleshy and apparently articulated with characteristic globular or short-cylindrical lateral branches, and reduced leaves and flowers. There are three or two species, occurring from Southern Europe and North Africa to Asia.

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

Halopeplis is a genus in the family Amaranthaceae. The plants are halophytes with not articulated stems and fleshy stem-clasping leaves. There are three species, occurring from the Mediterranean basin and North Africa to Southwest Asia and Central Asia.

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

Microcnemum is a genus in the plant family Amaranthaceae, containing a single species, Microcnemum coralloides. It is a dwarf annual halophyte with fleshy, apparently jointed stems and reduced leaves and flowers. The two subspecies show a disjunct distribution in Spain and Western Asia.

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

Horaninovia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. It also belongs to the tribe Salsoleae as well as in the subfamily Salsoloideae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Halostachys caspica (M.Bieb.) C.A.Mey". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ian Charleson Hedge: Halostachys belangeriana. In: Karl Heinz Rechinger et al. (eds.): Flora Iranica, Band 172, Chenopodiaceae, Akad. Druck, Graz 1997, ISBN   3-201-00728-5, p. 125-126.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ian Charleson Hedge: Halostachys belangeriana. In: Helmut Freitag et al.: Chenopodiaceae. In: Flora of Pakistan, Volume 204 - Missouri Botanical Garden Press & University of Karachi. 2001, ISBN   1930723105
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gelin Zhu, Sergei L. Mosyakin & Steven E. Clemants (2004). "Halostachys caspica". In Flora of China Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of China online . Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 Gudrun Kadereit, Ladislav Mucina, Helmut Freitag: Phylogeny of Salicornioideae (Chenopodiaceae): diversification, biogeography, and evolutionary trends in leaf and flower morphology, In: Taxon, Volume 55 , Issue 3, 2006, p. 630-632.
  6. Alexander von Schrenk: Chenopodiaceae staticesque novae vel nondum descriptae quas in itinere ad fluvium Tschu versus legit Alexander Schrenk. In: Bulletin de la Classe Physico-Mathématique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg 1, 1843, p. 361. first publication of Halostachys scanned at biodiversitylibrary.org.
  7. Mikko Piirainen: Proposal to conserve the name Halostachys (Chenopodiaceae s.str.; Amaranthaceae sensu APG: Salicornioideae) with a conserved type. In: Taxon 64, Issue 2, 2015, p. 386–387.
  8. Mikko Piirainen 2009: Halostachys belangeriana. In: P. Uotila, (ed.): Chenopodiaceae. In: Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.
  9. 1 2 Hao Liu, Yan Mou, Jianglin Zhao, Jihua Wang, Ligang Zhou, Mingan Wang, Daoquan Wang, Jianguo Han, Zhu Yu, Fuyu Yang: Flavonoids from Halostachys caspica and their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. In: Molecules 15, 2010, p. 7933-7945. doi : 10.3390/molecules15117933
  10. 1 2 B. Rasuoli, B. Amiri, M.H. Assareh, M. Jafari: Nutritional value of a halophyte species, Halostachys caspica in three different phaenological stages and three different sites. In: Iranian Journal of Range and Desert Research, Volume 18, Number 1 (42), 2011, p. 32-41.