Kalidium

Kalidium is a genus of flowering plants in the plant family Amaranthaceae. The species are shrubby halophytes distributed in Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia and Central Asia to China.

Kalidium
Kalidium caspicum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Salicornioideae
Genus: Kalidium
Moq.
Species

6 species, see text

Description

The species of Kalidium grow as subshrubs or low shrubs. The stems are much branched and glabrous. Older stems are not jointed, younger stems may appear jointed or not. The alternate leaves are fleshy, glabrous, stem-clasping and decurrent, nearly orbicular to semiterete, their free blades 0.5–12 mm long.[1]

The pedunculate inflorescences are spike-like, with alternate scale-like free bracts. In the axil of each bract, there are one to three flowers, partially fused to each other, to the bract and to the inflorescence axis, appearing sunken into fleshy axis. The flowers are bisexual. The 4-5-lobed perianth consists of four to five connate tepals. There are two stamens[1] and an ovoid ovary with two stigmas.[2]

In fruiting phase, the perianth becomes thick and spongy and encloses the fruit. Towards the apex, the perianth is widened, flattened, and furnished with a wing-like margin. The fruit wall (pericarp) is membranous. The vertical seed is disc-shaped with tuberculate to papillose surface. It contains a semi-annular embryo and copious perisperm (feeding tissue).[1]

Distribution and habitat

The species of Kalidium are distributed from Southeast Europe to Southwest Asia and Central Asia to China.[1][2]

The plants are halophytes and grow in saline mudflats, on alkaline soils, at margins of alluvial fans, and at the shores of salt lakes.[2]

Systematics

The genus Kalidium was first published in 1849 by Alfred Moquin-Tandon.[3] Kalidium foliatum was chosen as lectotype of the genus.[4] A synonym is Kalidiopsis Aellen.[1]

The genus comprises six species:[1]

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References
  1. Gudrun Kadereit, Ladislav Mucina & Helmut Freitag: Phylogeny of Salicornioideae (Chenopodiaceae): diversification, biogeography, and evolutionary trends in leaf and flower morphology, In: Taxon, Volume 55 (3), 2006, p. 623-624, 631-632.
  2. Gelin Zhu, Sergei L. Mosyakin, Steven E. Clemants: Kalidium. In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (eds.): Flora of China. Volume 5: Ulmaceae through Basellaceae. Science Press/Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing/St. Louis 2003, ISBN 1-930723-27-X, p. 355.
  3. Alfred Moquin-Tandon: Salsolaceae. in: De Candolle (Hrsg.): Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis 13(2). Masson, Paris, 1849, p. 146. (first publication scanned at BHL)
  4. "Kalidium". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  5. Mikko Piirainen 2009: Kalidium. In: P. Uotila, (ed.): Chenopodiaceae. In: Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.
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