Amaranthaceae

Spinacia L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 1027 (1753)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is W. & Central Asia to SW. Siberia.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Dioecious, rarely monoecious annual or biennial plants; stem and leaves glabrous or with scattered, relatively long-stalked bladder hairs; leaves alternate, hastate to pinnatifid or runcinately pinnatisect
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in sessile clusters, forming a spiciform or (the males) paniculate inflorescence
sex Female
Female flower clusters axillary, the flowers without a “normal” (actinomorphic) perianth but with 2 sclerified valves fused completely around ovary and considerably accrescent in fruit, each frequently with a dorsal spine; style very short or obsolete, stigmas 4–5, long and filiform
sex Male
Male flower clusters disposed along axils and slender branches of inflorescence, with 4(–5) perianth segments and 4(–5) free, slender filaments; anthers roundish, rather tumid, thecae finally widely gaping
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits indehiscent; seeds vertical, with brownish seed coat; endosperm copious; embryo annular.
Distribution
Three species, two wild in SW and C Asia, the third (S. oleracea) cultivated, probably also temperate Asiatic in origin.
Etymology
Spinacia (derived from the Medieval Lat. name for spinach)
[FIQ]

Sources

  • 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

  • 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