''Salsola'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of the subfamily Salsoloideae 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, making i ...

. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus and related genera is

saltwort Saltwort is a common name for various genera of flowering plants that thrive in salty environments, typically in coastal salt marshes and seashores, including: :*'' Salsola'' and related genera within subfamily '' Salsoloideae'' :*''Salicornia'' :* ...

, for their salt tolerance. The genus name ''Salsola'' is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''salsus'', meaning "salty".

Description

The species of ''Salsola'' are mostly

subshrub A subshrub ( Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their ...

s, shrubs, small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, and rarely annuals. The leaves are mostly alternate, rarely opposite, simple, and entire. The bisexual flowers have 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 and five

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s. The

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pis ...

ends in two

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

. The fruit is spherical with a spiral embryo and no

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 fem ...

Systematics

The genus name ''Salsola'' was first published in 1753 by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...

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 ...

''. The type species is ''Salsola soda'' L. The genus ''Salsola'' belongs to the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

Salsoleae ''s.s.'' of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus was recircumscribed in 2007 based on molecular phylogenetic research, greatly reducing the number of species. Synonyms of ''Salsola'' ''sensu stricto'' are: ''Darniella'' Maire & Weiller, ''Fadenia'' Aellen & Townsend, ''Neocaspia'' Tzvelev and ''Hypocylix'' Wol.. Haloxylon stocksii 1

The genus ''Salsola'' ''s.s.'' comprises 24-25 species since Akhani et al., 2007: * ''

Salsola acutifolia ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' (Bunge.) Botsch. *''

Salsola arbusculiformis ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Drob. * ''

Salsola cruciata ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Chevall. ex Batt. & Traubut * ''

Salsola cyrenaica ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' (Maire & Weiller) Brullo * ''

Salsola drummondii ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Ulbr. * ''

Salsola foliosa ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' (L.) Schrad. * ''

Salsola genistoides ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Poir. * ''

Salsola grandis ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Freitag, Vural & N.Adigüzel * ''

Salsola glomerata ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' (Maire) Brullo * ''

Salsola gymnomaschala ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Maire * '' Salsola kerneri'' (Wol.) Botsch. * ''

Salsola laricifolia ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Turcz. ex Litv. * ''

Salsola longifolia ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Forssk. * ''

Salsola makranica ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus ...

'' Freitag * '' Salsola melitensis'' Botsch. * '' Salsola oppositifolia'' Desf. * ''

Salsola papillosa ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus an ...

'' Willk. * '' Salsola setifera'' (Moq.) Akhani (Basionym: ''Anabasis setifera'' Moq.) * '' Salsola sinaica'' Brullo * '' Salsola soda'' L. * ''

Salsola tunetana ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus and ...

'' Brullo * ''

Salsola verticillata ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus ...

'' Schousboe * ''

Salsola zygophylla ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus and ...

'' Batt. & Traub. * '' Salsola zygophylloides'' (Aellen & Townsend) Akhani (Basionym: ''Fadenia zygophylloides'' Aellen & Townsend) Excluded species: Many species formerly grouped in ''Salsola'' were excluded by Akhani et al. (2007). They are now classified in separate genera: * ''Kali'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Kali'') * ''Turania'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Sogdiana'') * ''

Xylosalsola ''Xylosalsola'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Its native range is Southern European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть Ро ...

'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Coccosalsola'' subsect. ''Arbuscula'') * ''

Caroxylon ''Caroxylon'' is a genus of shrubby flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae, found in drier areas of the Old World, including southern Africa, Madagascar, northern Africa, Mediterranean islands of Europe, the Canary Islands, Socotra, Ukraine ...

'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Caroxylon'') ** '' Caroxylon imbricatum'' (Forssk.) Moq. (Syn. ''Salsola imbricata'' Forssk.) ** ''

Caroxylon vermiculatum ''Caroxylon vermiculatum'', commonly known as Mediterranean saltwort, is a perennial plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It has many synonyms, including ''Salsola vermiculata'' and ''Nitrosalsola vermiculata''. It is native to arid and semi-arid re ...

'' (L.) Akhani & Roalson (Syn. ''Salsola vermiculata'' L.) * '' Kaviria'' (for ''Salsola'' sect. ''Belanthera'')

Uses

The leaves and shoots of ''S. soda'', known in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

as ''barba di frate'' or ''agretti'', are cooked and used as

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

s. The species is also used for the production of

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

. In

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

, where the plant is called ''

gannabos ''Caroxylon aphyllum'' (commonly known as the ganna or kanna bush) is a small species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. It grows in the arid Karoo region of southern Africa. It typically grows in deep, dusty, saline soils, in valley bottoms ...

'', it is a valuable fodder plant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q159544 Amaranthaceae Halophytes Flora of Italy Flora of Namibia Barilla plants Drought-tolerant plants Amaranthaceae genera