Salsola is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of the subfamily Salsoloideae

Salsoloideae

The Salsoloideae is 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 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....

. A common name of various members of this genus (and related genera) is saltwort

Saltwort

Saltwort is a common name for several genera of flowering plants, including:*Batis, family Bataceae*Salicornia and Salsola, family Amaranthaceae*Salsola kali, prickly saltwort...

, for its salt tolerance.

Description

The species of Salsola are mostly subshrub

Subshrub

A subshrub or dwarf shrub is a short woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a similar term.It is distinguished from a shrub by its ground-hugging stems and lower height, with overwintering perennial woody growth typically less than 10–20 cm tall, or by being only weakly woody and/or persisting...

s, shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s, and small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s, rarely annuals

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

. The leaves are mostly alternate, rarely opposite, simple and entire. The bisexual flowers have 5 tepals and 5 stamens. The pistil ends in two stigmas

Stigma (botany)

The stigma is the receptive tip of a carpel, or of several fused carpels, in the gynoecium of a flower. The stigma receives pollen at pollination and it is on the stigma that the pollen grain germinates. The stigma is adapted to catch and trap pollen with various hairs, flaps, or sculpturings...

. The fruit is spherical, with a spiral embryo and lacking a perisperm.

Systematics

The genus name Salsola was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum

Species Plantarum

Species Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. This means that the first names to be considered validly published in botany are those that appear...

. Type species is Salsola soda L..

The genus Salsola belongs to Tribus

Tribus

Tribus may refer to* Tribe, a social group, originally:** a division of the citizenry of ancient Rome; see Tribal Assembly* Tribus , an EP released by Brazilian Thrash metal band Sepultura...

 Salsoleae s.s. of the subfamily Salsoloideae

Salsoloideae

The Salsoloideae is 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 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....

. Based on molecular phylogenetic research of Akhani et al. 2007 , the extremely species-rich genus in its former circumscription was completely re-classified (see under Salsoloideae

Salsoloideae

The Salsoloideae is 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....

).

Synonyms of Salsola s.s. are: Darniella Maire & Weiller, Fadenia Aellen & Townsend, Neocaspia Tzvelev, Hypocylix Wol., Seidlitzia Bunge ex Boiss., Salsola sect. Coccosalsola Fenzl subsect. Coccosalsola and Salsola sect. Obpyrifolia Botsch. & Akhani.

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

• Salsola acutifolia (Bunge.) Botsch.
• Salsola cruciata Chevall. ex Batt. & Traubut
• Salsola cyrenaica (Maire & Weiller) Brullo
• Salsola drummondii Ulbr.
• Salsola florida (M.Bieb.) Poir.
• Salsola foliosa (L.) Schrad.
• Salsola grandis Freitag, Vural & N.Adigüzel
• Salsola glomerata (Maire) Brullo
• Salsola gymnomaschala Maire
• Salsola kerneri (Wol.) Botsch.
• Salsola longifolia Forssk.
• Salsola makranica Freitag
• Salsola melitensis Botsch.
• Salsola oppositifolia Desf.
• Salsola papillosa Willk.
• Salsola rosmarinus (Ehrenb. ex Boiss.) Akhani (Basionym: Seidlitzia rosmarinus Ehrenb. ex Boiss.)
• Salsola schweinfurthii Solms-Laub.
• Salsola setifera (Moq.) Akhani (Basionym: Anabasis setifera Moq.)
• Salsola sinaica Brullo
• Salsola soda
  Salsola soda
  Salsola soda, more commonly known in English as Opposite Leaved Saltwort, Oppositeleaf Russian Thistle, or Barilla Plant, is a small , annual, succulent shrub that is native to the Mediterranean Basin...
  
  L.
• Salsola stocksii Boiss.
• Salsola tunetana Brullo
• Salsola verticillata Schousboe
• Salsola zygophylla Batt. & Traub.
• Salsola zygophylloides (Aellen & Townsend) Akhani (Basionym: Fadenia zygophylloides Aellen & Townsend)

Distribution

The genus Salsola (s.s.) is distributed in Central-Asia and Southwest-Asia, North-Africa and the Mediterranean.

Uses

Salsola soda

Salsola soda

Salsola soda, more commonly known in English as Opposite Leaved Saltwort, Oppositeleaf Russian Thistle, or Barilla Plant, is a small , annual, succulent shrub that is native to the Mediterranean Basin...

, known in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 as "Barba di Frate" or "Agretti", ca be used as vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

, with the young leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 and shoot

Shoot

Shoots are new plant growth, they can include stems, flowering stems with flower buds, and leaves. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop...

s beeing cooked. Salsola soda

Salsola soda

Salsola soda, more commonly known in English as Opposite Leaved Saltwort, Oppositeleaf Russian Thistle, or Barilla Plant, is a small , annual, succulent shrub that is native to the Mediterranean Basin...

is also used for the production of potash.

External Links

• Carl von Linné: Species Plantarum, 1, 1753 , S. 222 (First publication of genus)