Halothamnus beckettii is a species of the plant genus Halothamnus

Halothamnus

Halothamnus is a genus of the former Chenopodiaceae that is now included into the family Amaranthaceae. The scientific name means saltbush, from the Greek ἅλς "salt" and θαμνος "bush"...

, that is now included into the family Amaranthaceae

Amaranthaceae

The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 176 genera and 2,400 species.- Description :Most of these species are herbs or subshrubs; very few are trees or climbers. Some species are succulent....

, (formerly Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodiaceae were a family of flowering plants, also called the Goosefoot Family. They are now included within family Amaranthaceae. The vast majority of Chenopods are weeds, and many are salt and drought tolerant. A few food crops also belong to the family: spinach, beets, chard, quinoa, and...

). It is the only member of the section H. sect.Pungentifolia, which differs from H. sect. Halothamnus by hard leaves with spiny apex.

Morphology

Halothamnus beckettii is a sub-shrub only 20–40 cm high, strongly branched and densely foliated. The whole surface of the plant is covered with small white pustules. The half-terete leaves with concave upper side are narrowly triangular, with dense tufts of long curly hairs in their axils, about 11 mm long, and with a cartilaginous spiny apex. The flowers are 7,5-8,5 mm long (longer than other Halothamnus species). The winged fruit is 11–13 mm in diameter, their wings inserting at 1/5 of the fruit height, the tepal lobes with prominent mid rib.

Anatomy

The leaf anatomy of Halothamnus beckettii is unique in this genus: the peripheral bundles at the inside of the layer of Kranz-cells contain extreme amounts of lignified tissue.

External links

• Schweizerbart Bibliotheca Botanica Bd. 143 Webpage