''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' is a species of the plant genus ''

Halothamnus ''Halothamnus'' is a genus in the subfamily Salsoloideae of the family Amaranthaceae (s.l., now including Chenopodiaceae). The scientific name means "saltbush", from the Greek language, Greek () and () . This refers either to salty habitats or ...

'', that belongs to the subfamily

Salsoloideae The Salsoloideae are a subfamily of the Amaranthaceae, formerly in family Chenopodiaceae. Description These are herbs, subshrubs, shrubs and some trees. Stems and leaves are often succulent. The ovary contains a spiral embryo. In most genera, ...

within 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 ...

, (formerly Chenopodiaceae). It occurs in

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

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 ...

Morphology

''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' is a

sub-shrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). The term is often intercha ...

0,5-1,2 m high (on sand also

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 ...

up to 2,5 m high), with blueish-green or green branches. The lower leaves are half-terete, fleshy, linear and up to 35 mm long, the upper ones are scale-like, only 1–4 mm long, basally and laterally and mostly at the tip with narrow membranaceous margin. The

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 resemble the leaves, at the upper flowers they are shorter than

bracteole 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 look ...

s and flowers, with membranaceous margin all around. The bracteoles are scale-like, transverse-oval, with membranaceous margin all around, adjacent to the flowers, together with the bract forming a low cup. The flowers are 3,2-5,0 mm long with oval

tepals 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 ve ...

, the stigmas are truncate at their tip. The winged fruit is 11–17 mm in diameter, their wings inserted in or a bit below the middle. The tube of the fruit is dish-like, narrowed to its base, with prominent ridges, at its bottom with flat, oval to round pits. file:Halothamnus subaphyllus fruit 1.JPG, fruit (lateral view) file:Halothamnus subaphyllus fruit 2.JPG, fruit (bottom) The species comprises three subspecies: the typical subsp. ''subaphyllus''; subsp. ''psammophilus'', a shrub up to 2,5 m with shorter and thinner flower-bearing branches and longer upper leaves; and subsp. ''charifii'', with conspicuous tufts of long curly hairs in the axils of the leaves.

Taxonomy

Halothamnus subaphyllus as Salsola subaphylla in Eichwald

The species has been first described in 1833 by

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 ...

as ''Salsola subaphylla'' (In: Karl Eduard Eichwald: Plantarum novarum vel minus cognitarum, 2, Leipzig, Voss, p. 34, tab, 24). In 1981, Victor Petrovič Botschantzev included it into the genus ''

'' (In: Bot. Mater. Gerb. Bot. Inst. Komarova Akad. Nauk SSSR = Novosti Sistematiki Vysshikh Rastenii. Moscow & Leningrad 18, p. 171). Within the genus, it belongs to the section ''Halothamnus''. ''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' is classified into three subspecies: ;''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' subsp. ''subaphyllus'' Synonyms: *''Salsola subaphylla'' C.Meyer *''Caroxylon subaphyllum'' (C.Meyer) Moq. *''Salsola subaphylla'' C.Meyer var. ''typica'' Drobov, nom. inval *''Salsola subaphylla'' C.Meyer subsp. ''typica'' (Drobov) Iljin, nom. inval *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Aellen *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Aellen subsp. ''eu-subaphylla'' Aellen, nom.inval *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Botsch. ex Aellen, quoad nom. *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Aellen subsp. ''subaphylla'' *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Aellen subsp. ''sabetii'' Aellen *''Salsola subaphylla'' C.Meyer var. ''arenaria'' Drobov *''Salsola arenaria'' (Drobov) Iljin, nom. nud *''Salsola subaphylla'' C.Meyer subsp. ''arenaria'' (Drobov) Iljin *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Aellen subsp. ''turcomanica'' Aellen *''Aellenia turcomanica'' (Aellen) Čer. ;''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' subsp. ''charifii'' (Aellen) Kothe-Heinr. Synonyms: *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Aellen subsp. ''charifii'' Aellen *''Aellenia subaphylla'' (C.Meyer) Aellen subsp. ''gracilenta'' Aellen *''Halothamnus subaphylloides'' Botsch. ;''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' subsp. psammophilus (Botsch.) Kothe-Heinr. Synonyms: *''Halothamnus psammophilus'' Botsch.

Distribution

The distribution area of ''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' includes

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

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 ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

). It grows in

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

semidesert A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

s and

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

s on stony, clayey or sandy ground, often on salty or gypsum soils, up to 2400 m above sea-level.

Cultivation and uses

''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' is an important fodder plant of the grazed deserts of Middle Asia. It is eaten by sheep, goats and camelsG. K. Kinzikaeva: ''Aellenia''. - In: P. N. Občinnikov (Hrsg.): ''Flora Tadžikskoj SSR'' 3: p.419-425. - Leningrad: Nauka, 1968 and by cattle, therefore it is cultivated in artificial recultivated pasture. Most productive is the subspecies ''psammophilus''. The subspecies ''psammophilus'' is also planted for the stabilisation of mobile sand dunes. As traditional medicine, ''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' is used for women's diseases, for strengthening of the hair, and against scabies of sheep. and for

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

and healing of wounds. The plants are rich in medically used

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s ( Subaphyllin, Salsolin). Furthermore, it is used as dying agent for tissues. The ash of the plants was formerly used to extract soda and

potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

for making soap. The leaves accumulate

boron Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three ...

.N. M. Amanova & G. K. Kinzikaeva: ''Marevye (Chenopodiaceae Vent.) Ûžnogo Tadžikistana kak nakopiteli bora.'' - Izv. Akad. Nauk Tadžiksk. SSR Otd. Biol. Nauk 3: p.18-24, 1973.

Vernacular names

*Uzbekistan: Čogon, Čogan, Čugon *Kazakhstan: Šongajna *Russian: солянка малолистная

References

Gabriele Kothe-Heinrich
''Revision der Gattung ''Halothamnus'' (Chenopodiaceae)''. Bibliotheca Botanica Bd. 143
Schweizerbart, Stuttgart 1993, , p. 136-151. Gabriele Kothe-Heinrich: ''Halothamnus''. - In: Karl Heinz Rechinger et al. (Edit.): ''Flora Iranica Bd. 172, Chenopodiaceae'' - Akad. Druck, Graz 1997, , p. 285-289 and fig.7-8, tab.158.

External links

Digital herbarium specimens from Herbarium Berlin
* *
''Halothamnus subaphyllus'' at Tropicos

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q150781 subaphyllus Flora of Central Asia Flora of Pakistan Taxa named by Victor Botchantsev Taxa named by Carl Anton von Meyer