''Halothamnus beckettii'' is a species of the plant genus ''
Halothamnus
''Halothamnus'' is a genus in the subfamily Salsoloideae of the family Amaranthaceae (s.l., now including Chenopodiaceae). The scientific name means saltbush, from the Greek ἅλς (''hals'') "salt" and θαμνος (''thamnos'') "bush". This r ...
'', that is now included into the family
Amaranthaceae, (formerly
Chenopodiaceae). It is the only member of the section ''H.'' sect. ''Pungentifolia'', which differs from ''H.'' sect. ''Halothamnus'' by hard leaves with spiny apex. It is endemic to Somalia.
Morphology
''Halothamnus beckettii'' is a
sub-shrub
A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their De ...
only 20–40 cm high, strongly branched and densely foliated. The whole surface of the plant is covered with small white
pustules. The half-terete leaves with concave upper side are narrowly triangular, with dense tufts of long curly hairs in their axils, about 11 mm long, and with a cartilaginous spiny apex. The flowers are 7,5-8,5 mm long (longer than other ''Halothamnus'' species). The winged fruit is 11–13 mm in diameter, their wings inserting at 1/5 of the fruit height, the tepal lobes with prominent mid rib.
Anatomy
The leaf anatomy of ''Halothamnus beckettii'' is unique in this genus: the peripheral bundles at the inside of the layer of Kranz-cells contain extreme amounts of lignified tissue.
Taxonomy
''Halothamnus beckettii'' has been first described in 1982 by
Victor Petrovič Botschantzev
Victor Petrovitch Botchantsev (russian: Виктор Петрович Бочанцев) (20 October 1910 - 30 August 1990) was a Russian botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of ...
(In: Bot. Žurn. (Moscow) 67(4), 1982, p. 545).
The species name refers to the collector of the type specimen, J.J. Beckett. The species has been accepted in "Flora of Somalia" (Vol.1, 1993)
Distribution
''Halothamnus beckettii'' is endemic to
Somalia. It is a rare species, known just from a few sites. It grows in dry places (with yearly precipitation of 100–200 mm) among scattered dwarf shrubs or grasses on plateaus or slopes, on limestone or silty sand, up to 700 m.
References
[Gabriele Kothe-Heinrich: ''Revision der Gattung ''Halothamnus'' (Chenopodiaceae)''. Bibliotheca Botanica Bd. 143, Schweizerbart, Stuttgart 1993, , p. 46-49.]
[Gabriele Kothe-Heinrich: ''Revision der Gattung ''Halothamnus'' (Chenopodiaceae)''. Bibliotheca Botanica Bd. 143, Schweizerbart, Stuttgart 1993, , p.16-18.]
[Botschantzev, V.P.: Novyj vid roda ''Halothamnus'' (Chenopodiaceae) iz Somalia. - Bot. Žurn. (Moscow) 67(4), 1982, p. 545.]
[Entry for ''Halothamnus beckettii''](_blank)
at JSTOR
External links
Type and Isotype of ''Halothamnus beckettii''at JSTOR
{{Taxonbar, from=Q149884
Flora of Somalia
beckettii
Taxa named by Victor Botchantsev