''Pteropyrum'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s in the family

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants known Common name, informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The Botanical name, name is Basionym, based on the genus ''Polygonum'', ...

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts two

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, native to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

and the Gulf States.

Description

Species of ''Pteropyrum'' are

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

s. The few leaves may be arranged alternately or in bundles (fascicled). The

ochrea An ochrea (Latin ''ocrea'', greave or protective legging), also spelled ocrea, is a plant structure formed of stipules fused into a sheath surrounding the stem, and is typically found in the Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a Family (biology ...

is short. The flowers are small and

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, with 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, two outer and three inner, the three inner clasping the fruit when it forms. There are eight

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. The ovary is three-angled with three styles. The fruit has three broad wings.

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by

Hippolyte François Jaubert Count Hippolyte François Jaubert (28 October 1798 – 5 December 1874) was a French politician and botanist. Jaubert was born in Paris, the son of François Hippolyte Jaubert (a commissioner of the French Navy, killed at the Battle of the Nile ...

and

Édouard Spach Édouard Spach (23 November 1801 – 18 May 1879) was a French botanist. The son of a merchant in Strasbourg, in 1824 he went to Paris, where he studied botany with René Desfontaines (1750–1831) and Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu (1748–1836). H ...

in 1844. It is placed in the subfamily

Polygonoideae Polygonoideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Polygonaceae. It includes a number of plants that can be highly invasive, such as Japanese knotweed, '' Reynoutria japonica'', and its hybrid with '' R. sachalinensis'', ''R.'' × ''bohemica' ...

, tribe Calligoneae, along with its sister genus ''

Calligonum ''Calligonum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with about 80 species across the Mediterranean Sea region, Asia and North America. Description Plants of the genus ''Calligonum'' are shrubs, diffusely but irregularly branched, wi ...

''.

Species

, sources varied considerably in the number of species assigned to the genus.

accepted the following two species: *''

Pteropyrum aucheri ''Pteropyrum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. Plants of the World Online accepts two species, native to Iran, Oman and the Gulf States. Description Species of ''Pteropyrum'' are shrubs. The few leaves may be arranged alternate ...

'' Jaub. & Spach (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Pteropyrum ericoides'' Boiss.) *''

Pteropyrum scoparium ''Pteropyrum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. Plants of the World Online accepts two species, native to Iran, Oman and the Gulf States. Description Species of ''Pteropyrum'' are shrubs. The few leaves may be arranged alternate ...

'' Jaub. & Spach Other sources listed more species, some with an "unresolved" status. These include: *''

Pteropyrum olivieri ''Pteropyrum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. Plants of the World Online accepts two species, native to Iran, Oman and the Gulf States. Description Species of ''Pteropyrum'' are shrubs. The few leaves may be arranged alternate ...

'' Jaub. & Spach (synonyms ''Pteropyrum gracile'' Boiss., ''Pteropyrum griffithii'' Meisn.) *''

Pteropyrum naufelum ''Pteropyrum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. Plants of the World Online accepts two species, native to Iran, Oman and the Gulf States. Description Species of ''Pteropyrum'' are shrubs. The few leaves may be arranged alternate ...

'' Al-Khayat

References

Polygonoideae Polygonaceae genera Flora of Iran Flora of Oman Flora of the Gulf States Taxa named by Hippolyte François Jaubert {{Polygonaceae-stub