Family: Goosefoot [Amaranthaceae] |
Alternanthera |
Amaranthus |
Atriplex |
Axyris |
Bassia |
Beta |
Celosia |
Chenopodium |
Corispermum |
Cycloloma |
Dysphania |
Monolepis |
Salicornia |
Salsola |
Sarcocornia |
Spinacia |
Suaeda |
The Goosefoot family are mostly opportunist annual flowers occupying bare or un-cultivated ground, with between 3 to 5 bracteoles, male and female separate. On a leafless spike a tight cluster of usually small greenish-brown petal-less flowers resides. The leaves are usually un-toothed.
The three most frequent species are common amaranth, green amaranth and white pigweed, but 27 others have been recorded. Taxonomic authorities cannot agree on whether the Goosefoot Family [Chenopodiaceae] should be subsumed into The Amaranthaceae Family, or not, but here it has been! The Amaranthaceae family (and Chenopodiaceae if taxonomists decide not to put that in with the Amaranthaceae family) are all salt-tolerant species and they exhibit both C3 and the more efficient process C4 type photosynthesis. Another 13 families including Euphorbiaceae and grasses, Poaceae, are also C4 photosynthetic (making 15 families which are C4 photosynthetic altogether). Of those, only Euphorbiaceae have all three types of photosynthesis (C3 and C4 and C3+C4) within their numerous species.
|
[SALICORNIA] Glassworts
Recent DNA research on species of Salicornia suggests that all the diploids (which are more ornamental and elegantly branched) should be treated as just one species, and similarly all the tetraploids as another single species. If necessary, the different forms of each of the two species could be given segregate names. |
Common Glasswort. (Salicornia europaea) | Photo: © RWD |
Long-Spiked Glasswort (Salicornia dolichostachya) | Photo: © RWD |
Yellow Glasswort (Salicornia fragilis) | Photo: © RWD |
Purple Glasswort (Salicornia ramosissima) | Photo: © RWD |
[BETA] Beets
Beets were formerly placed in the Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae), but have since been moved into the Amaranthaceae. Beets, especially Beta vulgaris and the sub-species Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris include many cultivated varieties of specially-bred and grown vegetables, such as Beetroot, Mangelwurzle, Sugar Beet, Swiss Chard and Spinach Beet, but they are all segregated into 5 Cultivar-Groups of Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris, namely:
|
Sea Beet. (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima) | Photo: © RWD |
Mangel-wurzel & Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) | Photo: © RWD |
Chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) | Photo: © RWD |
[SUAEDA] Sea-blites
|
Annual Sea-blite (Suaeda maritima) | Photo: © RWD |
Shrubby Sea-Blite (Suaeda vera) | Photo: © John Bishop |
[ATRIPLEX] Oraches
There are two major complications to differentiating between the differing Orache plants, the first being that there is great variation (or plasticity) both in physical form and in genetic make-up of any one single species. The second is their great propensity to hybridize between (only some) species of Atriplex, and unlike first or second generation hybrids, generate hybrid derivatives which are self-fertile and proliferate. Genetically differing morphs exist for several of the species differing in leaf-shape, habit or colour, each genetically distinct. Morphological changes can also occur in response to environmental factors such as soil-type, pH, salinity, etc and all gang up against positive identification. That being said, with care it is possible for experts to identify many hybrids which occur in the British Isles with reasonable certainty. Oraches are usually Unisexual, with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. The male flowers are tiny, about 2mm across with 5 tepals (rather than any petals) and 5 stamens. The female flowers usually have no tepals (or petals!) but two expanding and growing bracteoles either side of the growing fruit until they encompass it. For photos of the flowers of Orache readers will have to look at Babington's Orache, the only one he has yet seen in flower (you have to get very close).
|
Although the BSBI map database does not seem to mention them (and similarly neither does the derivative hybrid chart above), apparently hybrids occur between ALL [except for Frosted Orache(Atriplex laciniata)] species of Atriplex - perhaps because the unmentioned other hybrids are either so rare, or that very few folk are willing or able to identify them in the field... (?). |
Grass-Leaved Orache (Atriplex littoralis) | Photo: © RWD |
Babington's Orache (Atriplex glabriuscula) | Photo: © RWD |
Long-Stalked Orache (Atriplex longipes) | Photo: © RWD |
Spear-Leaved Orache (Atriplex prostrata) | Photo: © RWD |
Sea Purslane (Atriplex portulacoides) | Photo: © RWD |
Atriplex × hulmeana (Atriplex prostrata × littoralis) | Photo: © RWD |
Kattegat Orache (Atriplex × gustafssoniana) | Photo: © RWD |
Frosted Orache (Atriplex laciniata) | Photo: © RWD ************ OR A DIFFERING CONTRIBUTOR ************** |
[CHENOPODIUM] Goosefoots
The Chenopodium genera is sub-divided into 6 sections each with their own characteristic physical features:
Section 1 - BLITUM containing:
Section 2 - RHAGODIOIDES containing just
Section 3 - AGATHOPHYTON containing
Section 4 - GLAUCA containing just
Section 5 - OXYBASIS (previously PSEUDOBLITUM) containing:
Section 6 - CHENODODIUM containing:
|
[Chenopodium] GOOSEFOOT HYBRID CHART |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chenopodium SPECIES LACKING HYBRIDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) | Photo: © RWD |
Fat-Hen (Chenopodium album) | Photo: © RWD |
Good-king-Henry (Chenopodium bonus-henricus) | Photo: © RWD |
Bugseed (Corispermum intermedium) | Photo: © Bastiaan Brak |
Red Goosefoot (Chenopodium rubrum) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Fig-Leaved Goosefoot (Chenopodium ficifolium) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
[DYSPHANIA] Keeled Goosefoots
|
[Dysphania] KEELED GOOSEFOOT HYBRID CHART |
|||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dysphania SPECIES LACKING HYBRIDS | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
[SALSOLA] Saltworts
|
Prickly Saltwort (Salsola kali) | Photo: © RWD |
[AMARANTHUS] Pigweeds
A very confusing genera with several plants having very similar features which make it hard to differentiate some species from others. The colours of some species also vary widely. The flowers have no petals, just tepals, which vary in number depending upon species, from 2-3 and from 3-5 as do the number of bracteoles (3-5). It is important not to confuse the 3-5 bracteoles with the 3-5 tepals; these are some of the important differentiating features. |
White Pigweed (Amaranthus albus) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Reneé Grayer |
Prince's-Feather (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Powell's Amaranth (Amaranthus powellii) | Photo: © Dawn Nelson |
Green Amaranth (Amaranthus hybridus) | Photo: © Dawn Nelson |
Common Amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Family: Goosefoot [Amaranthaceae] |