''Salsola'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the 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 ...

. 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 Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''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

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

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

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 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 The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

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'' Forssk. * ''

Salsola makranica ''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 ...

'' 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'' 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 ''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 ...

'' 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'' (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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

as ''barba di frate'' or ''agretti'', are cooked and used as

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s. The species is also used for the production of

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

. In

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, where the plant is called '' gannabos'', 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