''Halostachys'' is a genus of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s in the plant 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 ...
, containing a single species, ''Halostachys caspica''. The plants are small to medium halophytic shrubs with apparently jointed fleshy stems and scale-like leaves. They are native to western and central Asia and northern China.
[
]
Description
''Halostachys caspica'' grows as a 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 ...
to 1–3 m height and width. The erect stems are much branched, older twigs are mostly leafless. The young twigs are blue-green, fleshy, apparently jointed (articulated), with glabrous fine papillose surface. The 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, connate basally and surrounding the stem (thus forming the joints), with very short scale-like triangular blades.[
The ]inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, 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 mai ...
s consist of numerous opposite lateral cylindrical spikes, 15-30 × 2–5 mm, on jointed peduncles. Groups of three bisexual flowers are sitting in the axils of rhombic-quadrate 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.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, the apex with three incurved lobes. There is one 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 ...
exserting the flower. The ovoid ovary bears two subulate papillate
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...
stigmas. The flowering and fruiting phase reaches from July to November.[
The fruit is enclosed by the fleshy, somewhat inflated, three-angled, shiny perianth. The fruit wall (pericarp) is membranous. The erect seed is oblong and red-brown, containing the half-annular 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).[
]
Systematics
The genus ''Halostachys'' was first published in 1843 by Alexander von Schrenk.Carl Anton von Meyer
Carl Anton von Meyer (in Russian: Карл Анто́нович фон Ме́йер, ''Karl Antonovich von Meyer'') (1 April 1795 – 24 February 1855) was a Germans, German, Russified botanist and explorer.
Meyer was born in Vitebsk. He received ...
in 1838 (as "Halostachys caspia"), but without giving a genus description. In 1874, ''Halostachys songarica'' was chosen as 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. But this was problematic, as in 1866 ''Halostachys songarica'' and ''H. nodulosa'' had been transferred to the genus '' Halopeplis'' by Franz Ungern-Sternberg. Mikko Piirainen (2015) proposed to conserve the name ''Halostachys'' with the conserved type ''Halostachys caspica'',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 ...
).Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussia, Prussian zoologist, botanist, Ethnography, ethnographer, Exploration, explorer, Geography, geographer, Geology, geologist, Natura ...
as ''Salicornia caspica'' Pall., but this name is illegitimate (as ''Salicornia caspica'' L. existed already since 1753). The synonyms ''Halocnemum caspicum'' (Pall.) M.Bieb., ''Halostachys caspia'' (Pall.) C.A.Mey. (nom. inval.), ''Halostachys caspica'' (Pall.) C.A.Mey. ex Schrenk, and ''Arthrocnemum caspicum'' (Pall.) Moq. (p.p., nom. confus.) are all based on this illegitimate name.conserved name
A conserved name or ''nomen conservandum'' (plural ''nomina conservanda'', abbreviated as ''nom. cons.'') is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules wh ...
.
Phylogenetic research confirmed that ''Halostachys'' is closely related to the genus '' Halocnemum''.
Distribution and habitat
The distribution area of ''Halostachys caspica'' reaches from Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...
, Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
(Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
, eastern Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
), 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 ...
(northern 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 ...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, 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# ...
), 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 ...
(Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
, Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
) to 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' ...
and western Gansu
Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
(China).[
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 and grow in salt marshes, salty and alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...
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 ...
s, salty ditches, in dry river beds,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.[
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Uses
''Halostachys caspica'' grows under extreme ecological conditions, and is a good fodder plant for the sustainable development on salty soils. The best fodder quality is achieved during the flowering phase.phytochemical
Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction.
The fields of ext ...
s are flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s with antimicrobial
An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms (microbicide) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic agent). Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they are used to treat. For example, antibiotics are used aga ...
and antioxidant
Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...
properties.
References
[Ian Charleson Hedge: ''Halostachys belangeriana.'' In: Karl Heinz Rechinger et al. (eds.): ''Flora Iranica'', Band 172, ''Chenopodiaceae'', Akad. Druck, Graz 1997, , p. 125-126.]
[Ian Charleson Hedge]
''Halostachys belangeriana.''
In: Helmut Freitag et al.: Chenopodiaceae. In: ''Flora of Pakistan'', Volume 204 - Missouri Botanical Garden Press & University of Karachi. 2001,
[Gudrun Kadereit, Ladislav Mucina, Helmut Freitag: ''Phylogeny of Salicornioideae (Chenopodiaceae): diversification, biogeography, and evolutionary trends in leaf and flower morphology'', In: ''Taxon'', Volume 55 , Issue 3, 2006, p. 630-632.]
[Hao Liu, Yan Mou, Jianglin Zhao, Jihua Wang, Ligang Zhou, Mingan Wang, Daoquan Wang, Jianguo Han, Zhu Yu, Fuyu Yang: ''Flavonoids from Halostachys caspica and their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.'' In: ''Molecules'' 15, 2010, p. 7933-7945. ]
[Mikko Piirainen: ''Proposal to conserve the name Halostachys (Chenopodiaceae s.str.; Amaranthaceae sensu APG: Salicornioideae) with a conserved type''. In: ''Taxon'' 64, Issue 2, 2015, p. 386–387.]
[Mikko Piirainen 2009]
''Halostachys belangeriana.''
In: P. Uotila, (ed.): ''Chenopodiaceae.'' In: ''Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.''
[B. Rasuoli, B. Amiri, M.H. Assareh, M. Jafari: ''Nutritional value of a halophyte species, Halostachys caspica in three different phaenological stages and three different sites.'' In: ''Iranian Journal of Range and Desert Research'', Volume 18, Number 1 (42), 2011, p. 32-41.]
[Alexander von Schrenk: ''Chenopodiaceae staticesque novae vel nondum descriptae quas in itinere ad fluvium Tschu versus legit Alexander Schrenk.'' In: ''Bulletin de la Classe Physico-Mathématique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg'' 1, 1843, p. 361]
first publication of ''Halostachys'' scanned at ''biodiversitylibrary.org''.
/ref>
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q2497125, from2=Q15230793, from3=Q15591113, from4=Q17249674
Amaranthaceae
Monotypic Amaranthaceae genera