''Halostachys'' is a genus of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the plant family
Amaranthaceae
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 ...
, 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 Asia and southeastern Europe.
Description
''Halostachys caspica'' grows as a
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
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
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are fleshy, glabrous, connate basally and surrounding the stem (thus forming the joints), with very short scale-like triangular blades.
[
The ]inflorescence
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 o ...
s 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 bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s.tepal
A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s, the apex with three incurved lobes. There is one stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
exserting the flower. The ovoid ovary bears two subulate papillate
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...
stigmas. The flowering and fruiting phase reaches from July to November.[
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).][
]
Systematics
The genus ''Halostachys'' was first published in 1843 by Alexander von Schrenk.Carl Anton von Meyer Carl Anton von Meyer (in Russian: Карл Анто́нович фон Ме́йер, ''Karl Antonovich von Meyer'') (1 April 1795 – 24 February 1855) was a German, Russified botanist and explorer.
Meyer was born in Vitebsk. He received his educa ...
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'',synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
).Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810.
Life and work
Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son ...
as ''Salicornia caspica'' Pall., 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.conserved name
A conserved name or ''nomen conservandum'' (plural ''nomina conservanda'', abbreviated as ''nom. cons.'') is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules whic ...
.
Phylogenetic research confirmed that ''Halostachys'' is closely related to the genus ''Halocnemum
''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 two species ...
''.
Distribution and habitat
The distribution area of ''Halostachys caspica'' reaches from Southeast Europe, Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
(Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, eastern Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
), Southwest Asia (northern Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
), Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
(Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
, Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
) to Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
and western Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
(China).[
The plants are halophytes and grow in salt marshes, salty and ]alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...
mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...
s, salty ditches, in dry river beds,salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...
s.[
]
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.phytochemical
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...
s are flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s with antimicrobial and antioxidant
Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...
properties.
References
[Ian Charleson Hedge: ''Halostachys belangeriana.'' In: Karl Heinz Rechinger et al. (eds.): ''Flora Iranica'', Band 172, ''Chenopodiaceae'', Akad. Druck, Graz 1997, , p. 125-126.]
[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,
[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.]
[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. ]
[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.]
[Mikko Piirainen 2009]
''Halostachys belangeriana.''
In: P. Uotila, (ed.): ''Chenopodiaceae.'' In: ''Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.''
[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.]
[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''.
/ref>
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2497125, from2=Q15230793, from3=Q15591113, from4=Q17249674
Amaranthaceae
Monotypic Caryophyllales genera
Amaranthaceae genera