''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 related genera is saltwort, for their salt tolerance. The genus name ''Salsola'' is from the Latin ''salsus'', meaning "salty".

Description

The species of ''Salsola'' are mostly

subshrub 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 Der ...

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 ...

s, small trees, and rarely annuals. The leaves are mostly alternate, rarely opposite, simple, and entire. The bisexual flowers have five tepals and five

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 ...

s. The

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

ends in two stigmata. The fruit is spherical with a spiral embryo and no perisperm.

Systematics

The genus name ''Salsola'' was first published in 1753 by Linnaeus in ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

''. The type species is ''Salsola soda'' L. The genus ''Salsola'' belongs to the tribe Salsoleae ''s.s.'' of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus was recircumscribed in 2007 based on molecular phylogenetic research, greatly reducing the number of species. Synonyms of ''Salsola'' ''sensu stricto'' are: ''Darniella'' Maire & Weiller, ''Fadenia'' Aellen & Townsend, ''Neocaspia'' Tzvelev and ''Hypocylix'' Wol.. Haloxylon stocksii 1

The genus ''Salsola'' ''s.s.'' comprises 24-25 species since Akhani et al., 2007: * '' Salsola acutifolia'' (Bunge.) Botsch. *'' Salsola arbusculiformis'' Drob. * '' Salsola cruciata'' Chevall. ex Batt. & Traubut * '' Salsola cyrenaica'' (Maire & Weiller) Brullo * '' Salsola drummondii'' Ulbr. * '' Salsola foliosa'' (L.) Schrad. * '' Salsola genistoides'' Poir. * '' Salsola grandis'' Freitag, Vural & N.Adigüzel * '' Salsola glomerata'' (Maire) Brullo * '' Salsola gymnomaschala'' Maire * '' Salsola kerneri'' (Wol.) Botsch. * '' Salsola laricifolia'' Turcz. ex Litv. * ''

Salsola longifolia ''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 an ...

'' Forssk. * '' Salsola makranica'' Freitag * ''

Salsola melitensis ''Salsola melitensis'' is an endemic vascular plant of the Maltese archipelago. Its generic name is derived from the Latin word “salsus” which means salty, attributing to the salt tolerant nature of the species within this genus. The genus n ...

'' Botsch. * '' Salsola oppositifolia'' Desf. * ''

Salsola papillosa ''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 an ...

'' Willk. * ''

Salsola setifera ''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 ...

'' (Moq.) Akhani (Basionym: ''Anabasis setifera'' Moq.) * '' Salsola sinaica'' Brullo * '' Salsola soda'' L. * ''

Salsola tunetana ''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 ...

'' Brullo * '' Salsola verticillata'' Schousboe * ''

Salsola zygophylla ''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 ...

'' Batt. & Traub. * ''

Salsola zygophylloides ''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 ...

'' (Aellen & Townsend) Akhani (Basionym: ''Fadenia zygophylloides'' Aellen & Townsend) Excluded species: Many species formerly grouped in ''Salsola'' were excluded by Akhani et al. (2007). They are now classified in separate genera: * ''Kali'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Kali'') * ''Turania'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Sogdiana'') * ''

Xylosalsola ''Xylosalsola'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Its native range is Southern European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть Ро ...

'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Coccosalsola'' subsect. ''Arbuscula'') * ''

Caroxylon ''Caroxylon'' is a genus of shrubby flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae, found in drier areas of the Old World, including southern Africa, Madagascar, northern Africa, Mediterranean islands of Europe, the Canary Islands, Socotra, Ukraine ...

'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Caroxylon'') ** ''

Caroxylon imbricatum ''Caroxylon imbricatum'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Salsola imbricata'', is a small species of shrub in the Family (biology), family Amaranthaceae. It grows in deserts and arid regions of north Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern As ...

'' (Forssk.) Moq. (Syn. ''Salsola imbricata'' Forssk.) ** '' Caroxylon vermiculatum'' (L.) Akhani & Roalson (Syn. ''Salsola vermiculata'' L.) * ''

Kaviria ''Kaviria'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Its native range is Somalia to Arabian Peninsula, Syria to Central Asia and Pakistan. Species: *''Kaviria aucheri'' *''Kaviria azaurena'' *''Kaviria gossypina'' ...

'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Belanthera'')

Uses

The leaves and shoots of ''S. soda'', known in Italy as ''barba di frate'' or ''agretti'', are cooked and used as vegetables. The species is also used for the production of potash. In Namibia, where the plant is called ''

gannabos ''Caroxylon aphyllum'' (commonly known as the ganna or kanna bush) is a small species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. It grows in the arid Karoo region of southern Africa. It typically grows in deep, dusty, saline soils, in valley bottoms ...

'', it is a valuable fodder plant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q159544 Amaranthaceae Halophytes Flora of Italy Flora of Namibia Barilla plants Drought-tolerant plants Amaranthaceae genera