Tetragonia

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Tetragonia
Tetragonia tetragonioides habit.jpg
Tetragonia tetragonoides
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Aizoaceae
Subfamily: Aizooideae
Genus: Tetragonia
L.
Species [1]

51, see text

Synonyms [1]
  • AnisostigmaSchinz (1897)
  • DemidoviaPall. (1781)
  • LudolfiaAdans. (1763), nom. superfl.
  • TetragonellaMiq. (1845)
  • TetragonocarposMill. (1754)

Tetragonia is a genus of 51 species of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, native to temperate and subtropical regions mostly of the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand, Australia, southern and eastern Africa, and western South America, and eastern Asia. [1]

Contents

Description

Plants of the genus Tetragonia are herbs or small shrubs. Leaves are alternate and succulent, [2] with flowers typically yellow and small in size. Flowers can be axillary, solitary or fasciculate, greenish or yellowish in colour and mostly bisexual. [3] Fruit are initially succulent but become dry and woody with age. The genus name comes from "tetragonus", meaning "four-angled" and referring to the shape of the plants' fruits. [4]

Distribution

About forty species of Tetragonia are found in southern Africa, from Angola to South Africa. [3] They also occur in Australia, [5] eastern Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia), western south America (Peru and Chile), and Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, southern China, Myanmar, and Vietnam). [1]

Classification

The genus was first formally described by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in the work Species Plantarum . [5] Synonyms for the genus include Tetragonocarpos Mill., Demidovia Pall., and Tetragonella Miq. [1]

Human use and cultivation

The best known species of Tetragonia is the leafy vegetable food crop, Tetragonia tetragonoides ("New Zealand spinach"). New Zealand spinach is widely cultivated as a summer leafy vegetable.

Some of the other species are also eaten locally, such as Tetragonia decumbens ("Dune spinach") which is a local delicacy in its native southern Africa. [6]

Species

51 species are accepted. [1]

Related Research Articles

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Agathosma is a genus of about 140 species of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, native to the southern part of Africa. Common names include buchu, boegoe, bucco, bookoo and diosma. Buchu formally denotes two herbal species, prized for their fragrance and medicinal use despite their toxicity. In colloquial use however, the term is applied to a wider set of fragrant shrubs or substitutes.

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

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<i>Drosanthemum</i> Genus of succulents

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<i>Tetragonia decumbens</i> Species of succulent

Tetragonia decumbens is a coastal shrub, native to southern Africa.

<i>Aizoon</i> Genus of succulents

Aizoon or Aizoön is a genus of flowering plants in the iceplant family, Aizoaceae.

<i>Tetragonia implexicoma</i> Species of plant

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<i>Pharnaceum</i> Genus of Molluginaceae plants

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<i>Psammotropha</i> Genus of plants

Psammotropha is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Molluginaceae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tetragonia L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. "Tetragonia". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. 1 2 "2403.000 Tetragonia L." Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated plants. 2002. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. Beadle, N.C.W., Part II, Students Flora of North Eastern New South Wales, University of New England, 1972, ISBN   0-85834-040-2.
  5. 1 2 "Tetragonia L." Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. "PlantZAfrica.com Homepage".