Halothamnus glaucus
Encyclopedia
Halothamnus glaucus is a species of the plant genus Halothamnus
, that is now included into the family Amaranthaceae
, (formerly Chenopodiaceae
).
s and bracteoles of the lower flowers are resembling the leaves, the bracts having basally wide membraneous margins. The flowers are 3,5-5,0 mm long with lanceolate-oval tepals, the stigmas are rounded at their tip. The winged fruit is 11-17 mm in diameter, their wings inserting in or something below the middle. The tube of the fruit is broadly cylindric, often dilated to its base, its bottom with circular-oval pits.
The species is classified into three subspecies:
It grows in dry semideserts or mountain steppe
s on stony or clayey ground, partly on salty soils, up to 2000 m above sea-level.
was extracted from the ash of the plants. The roots and above ground parts of the plants are containing alkaloid
s.
Synonyms for ssp. glaucus
Synonyms for ssp. hispidulus (Bunge) Kothe-Heinr., 1993
Synonym for ssp. tianschanicus (Botsch.) Kothe-Heinr., 1993
Vernacular names
Halothamnus
Halothamnus is a genus of the former Chenopodiaceae that is now included into the family Amaranthaceae. The scientific name means saltbush, from the Greek ἅλς "salt" and θαμνος "bush"...
, that is now included into the family Amaranthaceae
Amaranthaceae
The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 176 genera and 2,400 species.- Description :Most of these species are herbs or subshrubs; very few are trees or climbers. Some species are succulent....
, (formerly Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae were a family of flowering plants, also called the Goosefoot Family. They are now included within family Amaranthaceae. The vast majority of Chenopods are weeds, and many are salt and drought tolerant. A few food crops also belong to the family: spinach, beets, chard, quinoa, and...
).
Morphology
Halothamnus glaucus is a sub-shrub up to 1 m high, with blueish-green pale-striped branches. The leaves are half-terete, fleshy, linear and up to 50 mm long and 0,7-2,0 mm wide. The bractBract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s and bracteoles of the lower flowers are resembling the leaves, the bracts having basally wide membraneous margins. The flowers are 3,5-5,0 mm long with lanceolate-oval tepals, the stigmas are rounded at their tip. The winged fruit is 11-17 mm in diameter, their wings inserting in or something below the middle. The tube of the fruit is broadly cylindric, often dilated to its base, its bottom with circular-oval pits.
The species is classified into three subspecies:
- ssp. glaucus, glabrous, and the stamen filaments 0,6-0,9 mm wide
- ssp. hispidulus, densely hairy, and the stamen filaments only 0,5-0,7 mm wide
- ssp. tianschanicus with truncate stigmas.
Distribution
The distribution of Halothamnus glaucus extends from eastern Turkey over Georgien, Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Turkmenistan, northern Iran, Kasachstan, Usbekistan, Kirghistan to China (Dsungaria, possibly Kashgaria und Mongolia, too).It grows in dry semideserts or mountain steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s on stony or clayey ground, partly on salty soils, up to 2000 m above sea-level.
Cultivation and uses
Halothamnus glaucus is an important fodder plant for camels, sheep and goats and is locally cultivated. In former centuries, potashPotash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
was extracted from the ash of the plants. The roots and above ground parts of the plants are containing alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s.
Taxonomy
Halothamnus glaucus (M.Bieb.) Botsch. s.l., Bot. Mater. Gerb. Bot. Inst. Komarova Akad. Nauk SSSR 18: 157, 1981.Synonyms for ssp. glaucus
- Salsola glauca M.Bieb.
- Caroxylon glaucum (M.Bieb.) Moq.
- Aellenia glauca (M.Bieb.) Aellen.
- Aellenia glauca (M.Bieb.) Aellen ssp. eu-glauca Aellen, nom.inval
- Aellenia glauca (M.Bieb.) Aellen ssp. glauca
- Aellenia glauca (M.Bieb.) Aellen ssp. eu-glauca Aellen f. reducta Aellen
- Salsola spicata Pall. (non Willd. 1798), nom.illeg
- Halothamnus heptapotamicus Botsch.
Synonyms for ssp. hispidulus (Bunge) Kothe-Heinr., 1993
- Caroxylon hispidulum Bunge
- Salsola hispidula (Bunge) Boiss
- Salsola hispidula (Bunge) Bunge, nom.inval
- Aellenia glauca (M.Bieb.) Aellen ssp. hispidula (Bunge) Aellen
- Aellenia hispidula (Bunge) Botsch
- Aellenia hispidula (Bunge) Aellen, nom. Inval
- Halothamnus hispidulus (Bunge) Botsch
Synonym for ssp. tianschanicus (Botsch.) Kothe-Heinr., 1993
- Halothamnus tianschanicus Botsch.
Vernacular names
- Azerbaidjan: LEKELI Š.
- Iran, Khorasan: BAEBAE, BAEBAE-SHOUR
- Turkmenistan: ČOGANOK , ČOGON
- China: 新疆藜 xin jiang li