Allenrolfea
| Iodinebush | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Subfamily: | Salicornioideae |
| Genus: | Allenrolfea Kuntze |
| Species: | A. occidentalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Allenrolfea occidentalis (S.Wats.) Kuntze | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Allenrolfea is a monotypic plant genus containing the single species Allenrolfea occidentalis, the iodine bush. This is a low-lying shrub of the Southwestern United States, California, Idaho, and northern Mexico.
It grows in sandy, often salty, distinctly alkaline soils, such as desert washes and saline dry lakebeds. It is a common halophyte member of the alkali flat ecosystem.
Description
The knobby green stems are fleshy and appear jointed at the internodes between segments. Often the segments are so short they are nearly round. The leaves appear as flaky scales scattered across the surface of the stems. The genus was named for the English botanist Robert Allen Rolfe.
The seeds of iodinebush have been used as food in North America in prehistory.[2]
References
- ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
- ↑ Rhode, David; Madsen, David B.; Jones, Kevin T. (2006) Antiquity of early Holocene small-seed consumption and processing at Danger Cave Antiquity 80(308):328-339
Further reading
- Gul, B., D. J. Weber, and M. A. Khan. (2001). Growth, ionic and osmotic relations of an Allenrolfea occidentalis population in an inland salt playa of the Great Basin Desert. Journal of Arid Environments 48(4) 445-60.
External links
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