''Haloxylon'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees, belonging to the plant
family Amaranthaceae. ''Haloxylon'' and its species are known by the common name saxaul.
According to Dmitry Ushakov, the name borrowed from the
Kazakh
Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to:
* Someone or something related to Kazakhstan
*Kazakhs, an ethnic group
*Kazakh language
*The Kazakh Khanate
* Kazakh cuisine
* Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan
*Qazax, Azerbaijan
*Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...
"seksevil". In modern Kazakh language, the shrub is called "seksewil". According to the school etymological dictionary, the name ''saksaul'' was borrowed in the 19th century from the Turkic languages.
Description
The species of genus ''Haloxylon'' are shrubs or small trees (rarely up to ) tall, with a thick trunk and many branches. The branches of the current year are green, from erect to pendant. The leaves are reduced to small scales. The
inflorescences are short shoots borne on the stems of the previous year. The flowers are very small, as long or shorter than the
bracteoles, bisexual or male. The two
stigmas are very short. In fruit, the
perianth segments develop spreading wings. The fruit with wings is about in diameter. The seed is about in diameter.
Distribution and habitat
The genus ''Haloxylon'' is distributed in southwest and Central Asia, from Egypt to Mongolia and China (
Sinkiang and
Kansu
Gansu (, ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kansu) is a provinces of China, province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative dis ...
), where it grows in sandy habitats (
psammophyte).
[
]
Taxonomy
The genus name ''Haloxylon'' was published by Alexander Bunge (ex Eduard Fenzl) in 1851, with the type species '' Haloxylon ammodendron''.
The genus belongs to the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae, It consists of only two species:Hammada
A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev de ...
'', with exception of the former ''Haloxylon stocksii'' (syn. ''Haloxylon recurvum''), which has been moved to ''Salsola stocksii
''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 ...
''.[
The common name ''saxaul'', sometimes ''sacsaoul'' or ''saksaul'', comes from the Russian ''саксаул'' (''saksaul''), which is from Kazakh ''сексеуiл'' (''seksewil'').
]
Ecology
In the deserts of Central Asia, a large number of birds are associated with saxaul, including the saxaul sparrow
The saxaul sparrow (''Passer ammodendri'') is a passerine bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family (biology), family Passeridae, found in parts of Central Asia. At and , it is among the larger sparrows. Both sexes have plumage ranging from ...
.
Uses
In the former bed of the Aral Sea
The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic basin, endorheic lake lyi ...
, saxaul trees are being planted to stop the wind picking up contaminated sand from the dried up sea bed and spreading them through the atmosphere. The plan is to cover the entire former bed with a forest.
References
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External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q268179
Amaranthaceae
Amaranthaceae genera
Taxa named by Eduard Fenzl