''Calandrinia'' is a large
genus of
flowering plants known as purslanes and redmaids. It includes over 100 species of annual and perennial
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s which bear colorful flowers in shades of red to purple and white. Plants of this genus are native to Australia, western South America, Central America, and western North America. Some species have been introduced to parts of New Zealand, southern Africa, Asia, and Europe.
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Description
Species in the genus ''Calandrinia'' are annual or perennial herbaceous plants with a sprawling or erect habit. The leaves are mostly basal and may be either alternate or opposite in arrangement. Flowers are produced in cymes
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...
. Each flower produces between four and eleven petals, though often five. Flowers may be white, purple, pink, red, or yellow.[
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Taxonomy
The genus ''Calandrinia'' was erected in 1823 by German botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
Carl Sigismund Kunth.[ It was named for Jean Louis Calandrini (1703–1758), a Genevan botanist.][
The genus is classified in the family Montiaceae.][ It was previously placed in the purslane family, Portulacaceae.][
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Species
, accepted species in Kew's Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
include:[
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Uses
''Calandrinia balonensis
'' Calandrinia balonensis'' is a succulent plant native to arid and semi-arid regions of Australia.
The scientific name for the species refers to Jean Louis Calandrini, a 19th-century Genevan professor and botanical author, and the Balonne R ...
'' is recorded in the 1889 book ''The Useful Native Plants of Australia'' as being called "''periculia''" by Indigenous Australians and that the plant was eaten by Europeans with bread while Indigenous Australians used it as a food when mixed with baked bark. "The seed is used for making a kind of bread, after the manner of that of ''Portulaca oleracea''. (Mueller, Fragm., x., 71.)."
References
Caryophyllales genera
{{Caryophyllales-stub