Zygophyllum
Encyclopedia
Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 family Zygophyllaceae
Zygophyllaceae
The Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. It includes around 285 species in 22 genera.In the APG III system of classification, the families Zygophyllaceae and Krameriaceae compose the order Zygophyllales...

. The generic name is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 words ζυγόν (zygon), meaning "yoke," and φυλλον (phyllos), meaning "leaf
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....

." It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets. The more than 50 species the genus contains are distributed in arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...

 and semi-arid regions of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, the Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...

, central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Recent DNA analysis suggests that the genera Augea, Fagonia
Fagonia
Fagonia is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The roughly 18 species it contains are commonly known as fagonbushes. Their distribution includes parts of Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, and parts of the Americas....

, and Tetraena are embedded in Zygophyllum.

Selected species

  • Zygophyllum album L.
  • Zygophyllum cornutum Coss.
  • Zygophyllum dumosum Boiss.
  • Zygophyllum eurypterum Boiss. & Buhse
  • Zygophyllum fabago
    Zygophyllum fabago
    Zygophyllum fabago is a species of plant known by the common name Syrian bean-caper. It is considered a noxious weed of economic importance in many of the western United States. It is native to Asia and the Middle East.-Growth:...

    L.
  • Zygophyllum gaetulum Emb. et Maire
  • Zygophyllum geslini Coss.
  • Zygophyllum giessii
    Zygophyllum giessii
    Zygophyllum giessii is a species of plant in the Zygophyllaceae family. It is endemic to Namibia. Its natural habitats are rocky areas and cold desert. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* Craven, P. 2004. . Downloaded on 24 August 2007....

    Merxm. A.Schreib.
  • Zygophyllum gilfillanii N.E.Br.
  • Zygophyllum howittii F. Muell.
  • Zygophyllum potaninii Maxim.
  • Zygophyllum simile
    Zygophyllum simile
    Zygophyllum simile is a succulent annual herb native to Australia.-Description:It grows as a prostrate or erect annual herb, branching from the base and reaching a height of from four to 60 centimeters...

    H.Eichler
  • Zygophyllum simplex L.
  • Zygophyllum stapfii – Dollar Bush
  • Zygophyllum waterlotii Maire
  • Zygophyllum xanthoxylum (Bunge) Engl.


External links

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