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Tetragonia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tetragonia
Tetragonia tetragonoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Aizoaceae
Subfamily: Aizooideae
Genus: Tetragonia
L.
Species[1]

51, see text

Synonyms[1]
  • Anisostigma Schinz (1897)
  • Demidovia Pall. (1781)
  • Ludolfia Adans. (1763), nom. superfl.
  • Tetragonella Miq. (1845)
  • Tetragonocarpos Mill. (1754)

Tetragonia is a genus of 51 species of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, native to temperate and subtropical regions mostly of the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand, Australia, southern and eastern Africa, and western South America, and eastern Asia.[1]

Description

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Plants of the genus Tetragonia are herbs or small shrubs. Leaves are alternate and succulent,[2] with flowers typically yellow and small in size. Flowers can be axillary, solitary or fasciculate, greenish or yellowish in colour and mostly bisexual.[3] Fruit are initially succulent but become dry and woody with age. The genus name comes from "tetragonus", meaning "four-angled" and referring to the shape of the plants' fruits.[4]

Distribution

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About forty species of Tetragonia are found in southern Africa, from Angola to South Africa.[3] They also occur in Australia,[5] eastern Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia), western south America (Peru and Chile), and Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, southern China, Myanmar, and Vietnam).[1]

Classification

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The genus was first formally described by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in the work Species Plantarum.[5] Synonyms for the genus include Tetragonocarpos Mill., Demidovia Pall., and Tetragonella Miq.[1]

Human use and cultivation

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The best known species of Tetragonia is the leafy vegetable food crop, Tetragonia tetragonoides ("New Zealand spinach"). New Zealand spinach is widely cultivated as a summer leafy vegetable.

Some of the other species are also eaten locally, such as Tetragonia decumbens ("Dune spinach") which is a local delicacy in its native southern Africa.[6]

Species

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51 species are accepted.[1]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Tetragonia L. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Tetragonia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ a b "2403.000 Tetragonia L." Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated plants. 2002. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. ^ Beadle, N.C.W., Part II, Students Flora of North Eastern New South Wales, University of New England, 1972, ISBN 0-85834-040-2.
  5. ^ a b "Tetragonia L." Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. ^ "PlantZAfrica.com Homepage".