''Halopeplis'' 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 ...

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, maki ...

. The plants are

halophyte A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. ...

s with not articulated stems and fleshy stem-clasping leaves. There are three species, occurring from the Mediterranean basin and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Description

The species of ''Halopeplis'' are

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

annual ore perennial herbs with glabrous, not jointed plant stems. The alternate or nearly opposite

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are fleshy, glabrous, globular or ovate, sessile and stem-clasping, with distinct or reduced leaf blades. The cylindrical spike-like

inflorescences In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( pe ...

are standing laterally or terminally in the upper parts of the plants. In spirally arranged

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

groups of three flowers are sitting in the axils of fleshy

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. The mostly bisexual flowers are immersed in the inflorescence axis and more or less connate to each other, to the bract, and to the axis. The inconspicuously three-lobed perianth consists of three connate

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. There are one ore two (rarely three)

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 shortly exserting the flower, and an ovary with two stigmas. The fruit remains enclosed in the inflorescence axis, the fruit wall (pericarp) is membranous. The seed is ovoid to circular, compressed, with leathery, smooth or papillose

seed coat In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...

. The seed contains the half-annular, uncinate or curved embryo and copious

perisperm In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the fema ...

(feeding tissue).

Distribution and habitat

The distribution area of ''Halopeplis'' covers the Mediterranean region,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

). The plants are

s and grow on wet salty soils at sea shores,

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s, or inland at the edge of

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

s and in saline

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

Systematics

The genus ''Halopeplis'' was first published in 1866 by

Franz Ungern-Sternberg Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

. In 1857,

Alexander Bunge Alexander Georg von Bunge (; – ) was a Russian botanist. He is best remembered for scientific expeditions into Asia and especially Siberia. Early life and education Bunge was born under the name Alexander Andreevič von Bunge on in Kyiv as ...

had introduced the name ''Halopeplis'', but without a valid description. The

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...

of the genus is ''Halopeplis nodulosa'', which is a

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 ...

of ''Halopeplis amplexicaulis''. The genus ''Halopeplis'' comprises three species: * ''

Halopeplis amplexicaulis ''Halopeplis'' is a genus in the family Amaranthaceae. The plants are halophytes with not articulated stems and fleshy stem-clasping leaves. There are three species, occurring from the Mediterranean basin and North Africa to Southwest Asia and C ...

'' (Vahl) Ung.-Sternb. ex Ces., Pass. & Gibelli: annual, occurring in inland salt flats and at salt lakes, distributed in the southern Mediterranean Basin and in

. * ''

Halopeplis perfoliata ''Halopeplis'' is a genus in the family Amaranthaceae. The plants are halophytes with not articulated stems and fleshy stem-clasping leaves. There are three species, occurring from the Mediterranean basin and North Africa to Southwest Asia and C ...

'' (Forssk.) Bunge ex Asch. & Schweinf.: perennial, occurring at sea shores from the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, to southwestern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

(

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

). * '' Halopeplis pygmaea'' (Pall.) Bunge ex Ung.-Sternb.: annual, occurring in inland salt flats and at salt lakes, distributed from the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

, southern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

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 ...

(

References

Hedge, I.C.: ''Halopeplis''. In: Rechinger, K.H. et al. (eds.): ''Flora Iranica'', Vol. 172, ''Chenopodiaceae'', Akad. Druck, Graz 1997, p. 123–125. . Kadereit, G., Mucina, L. & Freitag, H.: ''Phylogeny of Salicornioideae (Chenopodiaceae): diversification, biogeography, and evolutionary trends in leaf and flower morphology'', In: ''Taxon'', Volume 55 (3), 2006, p. 619. Piirainen, M. 2009
''Halopeplis amplexicaulis.'' In: P. Uotila, (ed.): ''Chenopodiaceae.'' In: ''Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.''
/ref> Ungern-Sternberg, F.: ''Versuch einer Systematik der Salicornieen'', 1866, p. 102. Zhu, G., Mosyakin, S.L., & Clemants, S.E.
''Halopeplis.''
In: Zhengyi, W., Raven, P.H., & Hong, D. (eds.): ''Flora of China''. Volume 5: ''Ulmaceae through Basellaceae''. Science Press/Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing/St. Louis 2003, , p. 355.

External links

* * * Piirainen, M. 2009
''Halopeplis.'' In: P. Uotila, (ed.): ''Chenopodiaceae.'' In: ''Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.''

Illustration of ''Halopeplis amplexicaulis'' at ''Flora Iberica''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q793830 Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae genera