Tetragonia
| Tetragonia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tetragonia tetragonoides | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Aizoaceae |
| Subfamily: | |
| Genus: | Tetragonia L. |
| Species | |
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About 85 species, including: | |
Tetragonia is a genus of about 85 species[1] of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, native to temperate and subtropical regions mostly of the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand, Australia, southern Africa and South America.
Description[]
Plants of the genus Tetragonia are herbs or small shrubs. Leaves are alternate and succulent,[2] with flowers typically yellow and small in size. Flowers can be axillary, solitary or fasciculate, greenish or yellowish in colour and mostly bisexual.[1] Fruit are initially succulent but become dry and woody with age. The genus name comes from "tetragonus", meaning "four-angled" and referring to the shape of the plants' fruits.[3]
Distribution[]
About 40 species of Tetragonia are found in southern Africa.[1] They also occur in southern Australia.[4]
Classification[]
The genus was first formally described by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in the work Species Plantarum.[4] Synonyms for the genus include Tetragonocarpos Mill., Demidovia Pall., and Tetragonella Miq.
Human use and cultivation[]
The best known species of Tetragonia is the leafy vegetable food crop, Tetragonia tetragonoides ("New Zealand spinach"). New Zealand spinach is widely cultivated as a summer leafy vegetable.
Some of the other species are also eaten locally, such as Tetragonia decumbens ("Dune spinach") which is a local delicacy in its native southern Africa.[5]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ a b c "2403.000 Tetragonia L." Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated plants. 2002. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ "Tetragonia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ Beadle, N.C.W., Part II, Students Flora of North Eastern New South Wales, University of New England, 1972, ISBN 0-85834-040-2.
- ^ a b "Tetragonia L." Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ "PlantZAfrica.com Homepage".
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tetragonia. |
- Tetragonia
- Aizoaceae genera