''Lipandra polysperma'' (Syn. ''Chenopodium polyspermum''), common name manyseed goosefoot, is the only species of the monotypic plant genus ''Lipandra'' from the subfamily

Chenopodioideae The Chenopodioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae in the APG III system, which is largely based on molecular phylogeny, but were included - together with other subfamilies - in family Chenopodiaceae in the Cronquist ...

of the family Amaranthaceae.

Description

''Lipandra polysperma'' is a non-aromatic, glabrous annual herb. The stems grow erect to ascending or prostrate and are branched with usually alternate, basally sometimes nearly opposite branches. The alternate

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

consist of a petiole and a simple blade. The leaf blade is thin, ovate-elliptic, with entire margins. The inflorescences consist of loose dichasia in the axils of leaf-like bracts, sometimes of more condensed glomerules of flowers arranged spicately. The flowers are

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

or pistillate, with (4-) 5 nearly free perianth segments, 1-3 (-5) stamens and an ovary with 2 stigmas. In fruit, perianth segments remain unchanged. The fruit has a membranous pericarp, which is free from the seed. The horizontally orientated seeds are compressed-globose. The brown to blackish seed coat is undulately striate.

Distribution

''Lipandra polysperma'' is distributed in most regions of Europe and in temperate Asia. It is widely naturalized elsewhere, as in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Systematics

The species was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as ''Chenopodium polyspermum'' 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 ...

''. After phylogenetic research, Fuentes-Bazan et al. (2012) separated this species from genus '' Chenopodium'' that would otherwise have been polyphyletic. The genus ''Lipandra'' was first described by

Alfred Moquin-Tandon Christian Horace Benedict Alfred Moquin-Tandon (7 May 1804 – 15 April 1863) was a French naturalist and doctor. Moquin-Tandon was professor of zoology at Marseille from 1829 until 1833, when he was appointed professor of botany and director of ...

in 1840 (in ''Chenopodearum monographica enumeratio'', p. 19.), replacing an older illegitimate name:

Christian Friedrich Lessing Christian Friedrich Lessing (10 August 1809 – 13 March 1862) was a German botanist who was a native of Groß Wartenberg, Niederschlesien. He was a brother to painter Carl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880), and a grandnephew of poet Gotthold Ephrai ...

's genus ''Oligandra'' (1835, not the Asteraceae genus ''Oligandra'' from 1832) had only one species, ''Oligandra atriplicoides'', that was soon considered identical with ''Chenopodium polyspermum''. ''Lipandra polysperma'' belongs to the same tribe as ''Chenopodium'', Tribus

Atripliceae Atripliceae are a tribe of the subfamily Chenopodioideae belonging to the plant family Amaranthaceae. '' Atriplex'' is the largest genus of the tribe. Species of Atripiceae are ecologically important in steppe and semi-desert climates. Distrib ...

. Synonyms of genus ''Lipandra'' Moq.: *''Oligandra'' Less. 1835 (nom illeg., non Less. 1832) *''Gandriloa'' Steud. (nom. illeg.) *''Oliganthera'' Endl. (nom. illeg.) *''Chenopodium'' nranked''Polysperma'' Standl. *''Chenopodium'' subsect. ''Polysperma'' (Standl.) Kowal ex Mosyakin & Clemants

References

Distribution map for the northern hemisphere
from: Eric Hultén, Magnus Fries: ''Atlas of North European vascular plants.'' 1986, a

Carl von Linné: ''Species Plantarum.'' Vol. 1, Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae 1753, p. 220
/ref>

External links

''Chenopodium polyspermum''
in Flora of North America {{Taxonbar, from1=Q159109, from2=Q17271940, from3=Q18198585 Chenopodioideae Amaranthaceae genera Monotypic Caryophyllales genera