Alhagi
Encyclopedia
Alhagi is a genus of Old World
plants in the family Fabaceae
. They are commonly called camelthorns or manna trees. There are three to five species.
Alhagi species have proportionally the deepest root system of any plants - a 1 m high shrub may have a main root more than 15 m long; due to their deep root system Alhagi species are drought-avoiding plants that utilize ground water, adapting in that way perfectly to the hyper-arid environment.
Alhagi species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Coleophora argyrella
which feeds exclusively on A. maurorum.
The genus name comes from the Arabic
word for pilgrim
.
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
plants in the family Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
. They are commonly called camelthorns or manna trees. There are three to five species.
Alhagi species have proportionally the deepest root system of any plants - a 1 m high shrub may have a main root more than 15 m long; due to their deep root system Alhagi species are drought-avoiding plants that utilize ground water, adapting in that way perfectly to the hyper-arid environment.
Alhagi species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Coleophora argyrella
Coleophora
Coleophora is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions...
which feeds exclusively on A. maurorum.
The genus name comes from the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word for pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
.
External links
- Jepson Manual Treatment
- LegumeWeb
- Al-'Āqūl
- Water relation characteristics of Alhagi sparsifolia and consequences for a sustainable management http://earth.scichina.com:8080/sciDe/EN/article/downloadArticleFile.do?attachType=PDF&id=306641