Amaranthaceae
Halocnemum

Halocnemum strobilaceum (Pall.) M.Bieb.

First published in Fl. Taur.-Caucas. 3: 3 (1819)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is N. Central Italy to SW. Siberia and N. China, NE. Tropical Africa to Arabian Peninsula. It is a succulent subshrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Edmondson, J. R (Eds). (2016) Flora of Iraq, Volume 5 Part 1: Elatinaceae to Sphenocleaceae.

Morphology General Habit
Low glabrous shrub, forming ± rounded hummocks 15–50 cm tall, much-branched, old growth frequently rather gnarled and contorted with a whitish to pale brown cortex; rootstock stout and tough
Morphology Stem
Young stems and branches ± straight and erect, jointed, those of current year green, succulent, joints globular to cylindrical with a cup-shaped pair of connate leaves at top of each
Morphology Leaves
Leaves reduced to fleshy concave cups
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers on short lateral branchlets on current year’s shoots and also at shoot tips, in axillary groups of 3
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth small, lobes hyaline, broadly oblong, 1–1.25 mm, truncate at apex, central lobe flattened dorsally, laterals gibbous and often green at tip
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens ± 2 mm, filaments delicate; anthers oblong, ± 0.75 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary ovoid; style ± 0.5 mm, stigma ± equalling it or longer
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit ± 1.25 mm, very delicate, compressed-ovoid; seeds light brown, 0.75–1 mm, compressed-ovoid to bluntly triangular, minutely verruculose.
Ecology
Saline flats; alt. s.l.–150 m; This species is one of the most spectacular features of the scenery on and around salt flats, particularly in autumn when the plants become reddish in colour.
Phenology
Flowering & fruiting: Mar.–Nov.
Distribution
Iraq: Common in lowland sabkha areas, particularly in the Southern Desert. Spain, E Mediterranean, N Africa, Egypt, Sinai, Turkey, Caucasus, Iran, Arabia, Turkmenia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China (Xinjiang and Kansu).
Vernacular
THELETH (Rawi & Gillett 6048); THIL(L)AIDH (Guest 3544, Guest et al., 16141); THELLAITH (Rawi 16586); HAMTH (Rawi & Gillett); ?RIMTH (Rawi & Gillett 6865).
[FIQ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Iraq

    • Ghazanfar, S. A., Edmondson, J. R. (Eds). (2013-2019). Flora of Iraq, Volumes 5.1, 5.2 and 6.0. Kew Publishing
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images