Amaranthaceae
Salicornia

Salicornia pachystachya Bunge ex Ung.-Sternb.

First published in Vers. Syst. Salicorn.: 51 (1866)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. Kenya to KwaZulu-Natal, Aldabra, W. Madagascar. It is an annual or biennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Chenopodiaceae, J. P. M. Brenan. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1954

Morphology General Habit
Annual herb, about 10–23 cm. high; main stem erect with numerous suberect lateral branches.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Fertile spikes many, 1.2–3.2 cm. long (to 5 cm. long, fide Ungern-Sternberg), 4.5–5.5 mm. in diameter, thick, cylindrical or somewhat tapering above, each of about 8–15 segments whose margins are about 1.75–2.5 mm. apart vertically, not or only very slightly hiding the fruiting calyces.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 2 per flower.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Central fruiting calyx of each group of three with a flattened apex about 1.52 mm. long and wide, when dry appearing wider than long, when softened by boiling about as long as wide; upper margin of the apex somewhat arcuate, lateral margins straight or slightly concave. Each group of three fruiting calyces finally falling away, leaving three little cavities in the spike arranged more or less in a triangle.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed ellipsoid, about 1.5–1.7 mm. long and 1–1.2 mm. wide; testa brown.
Habitat
Saline-water swamp forest with Avicennia marina and Lumnitzera racemosa mangroves; growing in more open parts with Suaeda on a yellow sandy clay; sea level
Distribution
T6
[FTEA]

Chenopodiaceae, J. P. M. Brenan. Flora Zambesiaca 9:1. 1988

Morphology General Habit
Herb 10–30 cm. high; main stem erect with numerous suberect or ascending lateral branches (forming an angle usually 450 or less with main stem).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Fertile spikes many, (0.5) 1–3 (5.5) cm. long, markedly thickening in fruit and 4–8 mm. in diam.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruiting spikes cylindrical, blunt, rarely somewhat tapering.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth exposed in flower and fruit.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed ellipsoid, c. 1.5–1.7 × 1–1.2 mm.
[FZ]

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 Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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.

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. 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 2024. 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