Samphire
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European samphire ( Salicornia europaea ) |
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Queller ( Salicornia ) is a genus of plants in the foxtail family (Amaranthaceae). Their common characteristic are their fleshy, apparently articulated and leafless, annual shoot axes. They are particularly widespread in the northern hemisphere and colonize tidal flats on the sea coasts and salty spots inland.
etymology
The generic name Salicornia is of Latin origin and means sal, sális for salt and córnu for horn; the latter refers to the often horn-like bent ends of the shoots. Another German name for the European Queller is Glasschmelz or Glassmalz . This name comes from the fact that the ashes of this plant were previously used to make soda , which was used to melt glass . The ashes of the samphire can contain up to 15% soda.
description
Samphire are annual, stem succulent salt plants (halophytes). The plant parts are hairless. The stems grow prostrate to ascending and are single to multiple branched depending on the species. Young plants are fleshy and articulated to knotty; older specimens may be slightly lignified. The fleshy leaves are opposite, are connected at the base and descending on the stem and form segments encompassing the stem axis. The leaf blades are reduced to scales and have narrow skin margins.
The stems have terminal spike-like inflorescences . These are apparently structured, each link consists of two opposing, (1-) 3 flowered cymes , which are completely sunk between a tiny support sheet and the main axis. The individual flowers of each cyme are arranged in a triangle, the two lateral flowers touch below the central flower. The mostly hermaphroditic flowers are approximately radial symmetry , with mostly three fleshy tepals that are fused almost to the tip and are also preserved at the fruiting time. The flowers contain one to two stamens and two styles . The pericarp is membranous. The seeds are vertical, ellipsoid, with a yellowish-brown, membranous, hairy seed coat . There is no nutrient tissue.
ecology
The samphire is the only salt marsh plant that is not viable without salt. The plant accumulates salt ions from the soil in order to overcome the osmotic suction power of the salt soil and soak up water. However, the salt content of the plant increases. To compensate, it absorbs additional water into its tissue in order to regulate the salt concentration in a tolerable manner. The life of the plant is therefore limited to six months.
Occurrence
Samphire are common in large parts of the northern hemisphere and in South Africa, from the boreal to the subtropical climatic zone. They grow along the coast of the sea and at inland salt points, for example in salt marshes and on the shores of salt lakes. They prefer salty moist to wet, occasionally flooded locations on silt or sand .
Development history
The genus probably originated in the Miocene in the area between the Mediterranean and Central Asia. The annual species of Salicornia developed from the persistent and not very frost-tolerant genus Sarcocornia in the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene . Twice they made it to South Africa, at least three times to North America. This resulted in diploid and tetraploid lines of development. Inbreeding and geographical isolation led to the emergence of separate species, which, however, often differ little.
Systematics
The first description of the genus Salicornia was made in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus . As a type species was Salicornia europaea set.
The genus Salicornia includes around 10 to 30 species. The taxonomy of the genus is extremely difficult, a species identification is almost impossible for non-specialists. The reasons are the succulence and the greatly reduced morphology of the species. Dried specimens can hardly be determined with certainty because they lose their characteristic features. Cultivating the plants under laboratory conditions seems just as difficult, since the hydrological conditions (temporary flooding, water saturation of the soil, salt concentrations) can hardly be appropriately imitated. In addition, the great variability within the species makes it difficult to assign them. An acceptable classification of the genus is only gradually achieved through molecular genetic studies.
Species in Eurasia :
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European samphire ( Salicornia europaea species group), with two crypto species :
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Salicornia europaea L., with three subspecies
- Salicornia europaea subsp. europaea , on the sea coasts from southern Spain to northern Scandinavia
- Salicornia europaea subsp. disarticulata ( Moss ) Lambinon & Vanderpoorten , on the Atlantic coasts of Brittany, the Netherlands and southern England.
- Salicornia europaea subsp. × marshallii Lambinon & Vanderpoorten , hybrid of the previous subspecies, on the Atlantic coast of Brittany and the Netherlands.
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Salicornia perennans Willd. ( Syn.Salicornia prostrata Pallas ), with two subspecies:
- Salicornia perennans subsp. perennans , widespread Mediterranean-continental distribution from North Africa and the Mediterranean area to the Baltic Sea and the White Sea (in places also on the Atlantic and the North Sea), via Asia to Yakutsk (Siberia), Japan and Korea.
- Salicornia perennans subsp. altaica ( Lomon. ) G. Kadereit & Piirainen , only in Altai (Russia, Mongolia)
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Salicornia europaea L., with three subspecies
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Salicornia procumbens species group:
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Salicornia procumbens Sm. , With four subspecies
- Salicornia procumbens subsp. procumbens , widespread on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Atlantic from Morocco to Scandinavia, also inland (Turkey, Ukraine).
- Salicornia procumbens subsp. freitagii ( Yaprak & Yardakulol ) G. Kadereit & Piirainen , endemic to Central Anatolia (Turkey).
- Salicornia procumbens subsp. pojarkovae ( Semenova ) G. Kadereit & Piirainen , on the coasts of the White Sea (Russia) and the Barents Sea (Norway).
- Salicornia procumbens subsp. heterantha ( SS Beer & Demina ) G. Kadereit & Piirainen , only in the Rostov province in Southeastern Russia.
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Salicornia persica Akhani , with two subspecies:
- Salicornia persica subsp. persica , in Iran
- Salicornia persica subsp. iranica ( Akhani ) G. Kadereit & Piirainen , in Iran, probably also in the Eastern Mediterranean and in Southwest Asia.
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Salicornia procumbens Sm. , With four subspecies
In North America:
- Salicornia maritima S. L. Wolff & Jefferies , coasts of southeastern Canada, northeastern USA, southern Alaska. (has now proven to be genetically identical to Salicornia europaea )
- Salicornia bigelovii Torrey , on the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic coast to Maine, southern California.
- Salicornia depressa Standley , on the Pacific coast from Alaska to California, Atlantic coast from Canada to South Carolina.
- Salicornia rubra A. Nelson , inland salt flats of central United States and Canada, subarctic Canada.
In Africa:
- Salicornia praecox A. Chev. , in western Senegal
- Salicornia senegalensis A. Chev. , in western Senegal
- Salicornia perrieri A. Chev. , on the East African coast from Mozambique to KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, probably also in Tanzania and Zanzibar
- Salicornia pachystachya Bunge ex Ungern-Sternb. , on the East African coast from southern Kenya to KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar
- Salicornia meyeriana Moss , on the South African coast from Vanrhynsdorp to Durban
- Salicornia uniflora Toelken , in southwestern Namibia (Lüderitz) and northwestern South Africa (Darling)
In South Asia:
- Salicornia brachiata Roxb. , on the coast of Ceylon and the east coast of India to Bengal
use
European samphire and Salicornia bigelovii in particular are edible and tasty, albeit quite salty. They are more likely to be available in the catering sector or wholesalers. In the Netherlands Queller is available in supermarkets under the name zeekraal , in Great Britain as samphire . It is blanched, seared briefly or eaten raw, and is very popular as an accompaniment to fish and as a salad.
The hibernating geese (Anserinae) also serve as food, in Europe especially the barnacle goose and the brent goose .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Peter W. Ball: Salicornia. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Ed.): Flora of North America North of Mexico . Volume 4: Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1 . Oxford University Press, New York / Oxford a. a. 2003, ISBN 0-19-517389-9 , pp. 335 (English). , online
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Gudrun Kadereit, Peter Ball, Svetlana Beer, Ladislav Mucina, Dmitry Sokoloff, Patrick Teege, Ahmet E. Yaprak & Helmut Freitag: A taxonomic nightmare comes true: phylogeny and biogeography of glassworts (Salicornia L. , Chenopodiaceae) . Taxon 56 (4), 2007, pp. 1143-1170.
- ^ Salicornia at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed 7/20/2016.
- ↑ a b c Gudrun Kadereit, Mikko Piirainen, Jacques Lambinon & Alain Vanderpoorten: Cryptic taxa should have names. Reflections on the glasswort genus Salicornia (Amaranthaceae) . Taxon 61: 2012, pp. 1227-1239.
- ^ Salicornia europaea at Plants For A Future . Retrieved on July 20, 2016.
- ^ Salicornia bigelovii at Plants For A Future . Retrieved on July 20, 2016.
- ↑ E. Bezzel: Compendium of the birds of Central Europe. Nonpasseriformes - non-singing birds . Aula, Wiesbaden 1985; ISBN 3-89104-424-0 ; Pp. 132 and 135
Web links
Wikispecies: Salicornia - Species Directory