Polygonaceae
Calligonum

Calligonum polygonoides L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 530 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is E. Medit. to Iran and Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan to NW. India. It is a shrub 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
Subshrub, to 1.2 m tall
Morphology Branches
Older branches with brownish-white bark; younger shoots green, 1–2 mm in diameter
Morphology Leaves
Leaves up to 1 cm, soon deciduous and usually absent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth segments oblong, obtuse, 3–5 mm, white
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anthers pink
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits oblong, red or greenish, 0.7–0.8 × 0.5–0.6 cm, clothed in branched ± rigid bristles 3–5 mm arising from 4 pairs of short wings.
Ecology
Rocky gullies; alt. 30–50 m;
Phenology
Flowering: Feb.
Distribution
Iraq: Rare in the desert zone of central Iraq. Egypt (Sinai), Arabian Peninsula, Palestine, Syria, Turkey (E Anatolia), Armenia, NW and C Iran.
[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 2026. 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 2026. 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