''Tetragonia'' is a genus of about 85 species
[ 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 family Aizoaceae, native to temperate and subtropical regions mostly of the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, Australia, southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
.
Description
Plants of the genus ''Tetragonia'' are herbs or small shrubs
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 ...
. Leaves are alternate and succulent,Fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
are initially succulent but become dry and woody with age. The genus name comes from ''"tetragonus"'', meaning ''"four-angled"'' and referring to the shape of the plants' fruits.
Distribution
About forty species of ''Tetragonia'' are found in southern Africa.[ They also occur in southern Australia.][
]
Classification
The genus was first formally described by the botanist Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...
in 1753 in the work '' Species Plantarum''.
Human use and cultivation
The best known species of ''Tetragonia'' is the leafy 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, ...
food crop
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...
, '' Tetragonia tetragonoides'' ("New Zealand spinach"). New Zealand spinach is widely cultivated as a summer leafy vegetable.
Some of the other species are also eaten locally, such as '' Tetragonia decumbens'' ("Dune spinach") which is a local delicacy in its native southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
.
Gallery
File:Tetragonia decumbens03.jpg, '' Tetragonia decumbens''
File:Tetragonia echinata0.jpg, '' Tetragonia echinata''
File:Tetragonia implexicoma habit.jpg, '' Tetragonia implexicoma''
File:Tetragonia ovata, Aizoaceae (8464390152).jpg, '' Tetragonia ovata''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q133932
Aizoaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus