Afrosalsola (Amaranthaceae-Chenopodiaceae), an intermediate C3-C4 lineage from NW Africa and the Canary Islands, and some new combinations in African species of Caroxylon and Soda

Hossein Akhani; Hussaini  Abdullahi; Alexander Rudov

doi:10.5209/mbot.94654

Afrosalsola (Amaranthaceae-Chenopodiaceae), an intermediate C3-C4 lineage from NW Africa and the Canary Islands, and some new combinations in African species of Caroxylon and Soda

Hossein Akhani University of Tehran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9023-0357
Hussaini Abdullahi University of Tehran https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2115-1213
Alexander Rudov Institute of Botany after A.L. Takhtajyan of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8501-8826

Keywords: Caryophyllales, flora of Morocco, halophytes, photosynthetic pathways, western Mediterranean-Macaronesian area

Abstract

The segregation of the polyphyletic genus Salsola (Amaranthaceae-Chenopodiaceae) caused enormous nomenclatural changes during the last two decades. A lineage, that is still awaiting to be validated by a new valid name comprises four interesting taxa endemic to the Canary Islands and NW Africa. These are shrubby plants with opposite and alternate branches and leaves, specific leaf-anatomy with a hypodermis and Kranz-like cells performing a C₃-C₄ intermediate photosynthetic pathway (C₂ type). The new genus Afrosalsola is described with the inclusion of 2 species [Afrosalsola divaricata (Mass. ex Link) Akhani comb. nov., and A. deschaseauxiana (Litard. & Maire) Akhani comb. nov.] and three subspecies of the former [Afrosalsola divaricata subsp. divaricata, A. divaricata subsp. verticillata (Schousboe) Akhani and A. divaricata subsp. gymnomaschala (Maire) Akhani]. The synonymy of Salsola deschaseauxiana Litard. & Maire with S. verticillata Mass. ex Link is rejected based on typical alternate leaves of the former. Salsola divaricata is typified based on its original collection in BM. Additional new combinations of African species belonging to Caroxylon and Soda are provided.

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Author Biographies

Hossein Akhani, University of Tehran

Halophytes and C4 Plants Research Laboratory, Department of Plant Sciences, School of Biology, College of Sciences, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6455, Tehran, Iran.

Hussaini Abdullahi, University of Tehran

Halophytes and C4 Plants Research Laboratory, Department of Plant Sciences, School of Biology, College of Sciences, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6455, Tehran, Iran.

Alexander Rudov, Institute of Botany after A.L. Takhtajyan of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia

Institute of Botany after A.L. Takhtajyan of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia.

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Published

2024-09-23

How to Cite

Akhani H., Abdullahi H. . y Rudov A. (2024). Afrosalsola (Amaranthaceae-Chenopodiaceae), an intermediate C3-C4 lineage from NW Africa and the Canary Islands, and some new combinations in African species of Caroxylon and Soda. Mediterranean Botany, 45(2), e94654. https://doi.org/10.5209/mbot.94654

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Issue

Vol. 45 No. 2 (2024)

Section

Systematics, Taxonomy and Nomenclature

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Mediterranean Botany is an open access journal to promote global exchange knowledge. It facilitates unrestricted access to its contents from the moment of publication in its electronic edition. The originals published are property of the Universidad Complutense and it is mandatory to cite such source in case of total or partial reproduction. All contents are distributed under a Creative Commons License 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in this way when necessary. You can check the informative version and legal text of the license.