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Halophytes of Southwest Asia

April 2014

April 2014

DOI:10.1007/978-94-007-7411-7_8

In book: Sabkha Ecosystems: Volume IV: Cash Crop Halophyte and Biodiversity Conservation (pp.105-133)

Authors:

Shahina Ghazanfar

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Ahmet Emre Yaprak

Ankara University

Jo Osborne

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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In general, saline and arid environments are poor in species. A total of 728 taxa of halophytes are recorded for SW Asia belonging to 68 families (compared to 117 plant families worldwide). The majority of halophytes belong to the families Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Leguminosae (Papiliondeae), Asteraceae and Cyperaceae. Chenopodiaceae has the largest number of species and genera of all families only exceeded by Poaceae which has more genera but fewer species. These numbers are in accordance with those found for halophytes of the world. From the data available, Turkey has the most halophytes (±600 taxa), followed by Pakistan (±361 taxa), Iran ± 350 taxa), Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen (±120 taxa). Halophytes in SW Asia constitute about half the number of halophyte taxa (and families) recorded for the world. Information on halophytes is collated from published sources, and names of accepted taxa (and synonyms) are compiled in the database BRAHMS. A preliminary checklist (of names only) produced from this database is provided in this chapter.

Number of halophytic taxa in plant families in the Arabian Peninsula [ 18 ]

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105

M.A. Khan et al. (eds.), Sabkha Ecosystems: Volume IV: Cash Crop Halophyte and Biodiversity

Conservation, Tasks for Vegetation Science 47, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7411-7_8,

Abstract

In general, saline and arid environments are poor in species. A total

of 728 taxa of halophytes are recorded for SW Asia belonging to 68

families (compared to 117 plant families worldwide). The majority of

halophytes belong to the families Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Leguminosae

(Papiliondeae), Asteraceae and Cyperaceae. Chenopodiaceae has the

largest number of species and genera of all families only exceeded by

Poaceae which has more genera but fewer species. These numbers are in

accordance with those found for halophytes of the world. From the data

available, Turkey has the most halophytes (±600 taxa), followed by

Pakistan (±361 taxa), Iran ± 350 taxa), Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman

and Yemen (±120 taxa). Halophytes in SW Asia constitute about half the

number of halophyte taxa (and families) recorded for the world.

Information on halophytes is collated from published sources, and

names of accepted taxa (and synonyms) are compiled in the database

BRAHMS. A preliminary checklist (of names only) produced from this

database is provided in this chapter.

S. A. Ghazanfar (*) • J. Osborne

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew , Richmond, Surrey ,

London TW9 3AB , UK

E. Altundag

Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences ,

Duzce University , 81620 Duzce , Turkey

A. E. Yaprak • G. N. Tug

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences ,

Ankara University , 06100 Ankara , Turkey

M. Vural

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences ,

Gazi University , 06500 Ankara , Turkey

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

Shahina A. Ghazanfar , Ernaz Altundag ,

Ahmet Emre Yaprak , Joanna Osborne ,

Gull Nilhan Tug , and Mecit Vural

1 Introduction

Halophytes are plants that are specially adapted

to live in saline environments. Salt affected areas

amount to about 955 million ha worldwide, with

the tropical African and SW Asian deserts con-

stituting a major part of this area. In semi arid

areas about 30 % of all irrigated land suffers

from salinization, and with the present trend in

global warming and climate change towards

aridity, more and more land will eventually fall

to salinity.

106

Information on saline ecosystems, correct

identiﬁ cation of halophytes and their potential

uses is scattered or lacking, especially in parts of

SW Asia. This chapter is aimed towards under-

standing and identifying the plants that tolerate

saline conditions in SW Asia; it collates the

information that is available at present, and aims

towards updating the nomenclature of this group

of salt tolerant plants. This information is neces-

sary for any research on biosaline agriculture,

rangeland and coastal management and restora-

tion of degraded arid and saline habitats.

1.1 Geographical Scope

For the purpose of this chapter, Southwest Asia is

taken to include Turkey, Lebanon, Israel,

Palestine, Jordan, all countries of the Arabian

Peninsula (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi

Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates),

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan (Fig. 1 ).

Southwest Asia is mostly arid with large

gravel and sandy desert areas. The region lies at

the edge of a large tectonic plate such that the

Arabian Peninsula is pulling away from Africa,

F i g . 1 Countries of SW Asia included in the study. Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, all countries of the

Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan (From Google maps)

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

107

and parts of the Anatolian Peninsula (Turkey)

are sliding past parts of Asia. Continental rift-

ing has caused some areas to be below sea level,

such as the Dead Sea located between Israel

and Jordan.

The Arabian Peninsula lies between the Red

Sea and Persian Gulf and the Anatolian Peninsula

lies between the Black Sea and Mediterranean

Sea. In the north, the Zagros, Elbruz and Taurus

mountains are present. The Arabian Peninsula is

mostly covered by sandy and gravelly plains with

escarpment mountains in the southwest, and Rub'

al Khali, one of the world’s largest sand deserts,

spanning the southern third. In Yemen, the moun-

tains reach up to 3,700 m and the highlands extend

north along the Red Sea coast and north into

Lebanon. The Zagros Mountains located in Iran

also border with parts of northern Iraq. The central

plateau of Iran, a hyper arid area, is divided into

two drainage basins, Dasht-e-Kavir (Great Salt

Desert) in the north and Dasht-e-Lut in the south.

Though surrounded by water, the region of

Southwest Asia is arid and lacks water resources.

The few rivers, such as the Tigris and Euphrates

which ﬂ ow through Turkey, Syria and Iraq and

the Jordan River (which ﬂ ows from Mt. Hermon

in Lebanon through Jordan into the Dead Sea) are

critical for agriculture.

Climatically most areas in the plains receive

less than 400 mm of precipitation a year (Fig. 2 ).

Large areas of deserts are saline with inland

sabkhas (salt ﬂ ats). Some of the largest salt areas

lie in the central plateau of Iran, and Umm as

Samim, a big inland salt plain (a former lake) lies

in western Oman.

1.2 What Are Halophytes

Halphytes can be deﬁ ned in various ways, but for

our purpose, we have taken halophytes as those

plants that are able to complete their life cycle

under saline conditions, where salt concentration

is at least 200 mM NaCl [ 1 ]. Plants that are classi-

ﬁ ed as “true” or “obligate” halophytes such as

mangroves, seagrasses or some species of

Amaranthaceae (in the former Chenopodiaceae)

are not able to exist in non saline habitats, while

“facultative” halophytes can live in non saline

habitats. The majority of halophytes depend on

rain for seed to germinate, but can ﬂ ower and fruit

in saline environments, and seeds of halophytes

can survive long periods in saline conditions.

Many eudicot halophytes do not show opti-

mum growth in salinity concentrations of

50–250 mM NaCl, while monocot halophytes

generally grow optimally in the absence of salt,

or if growth is stimulated, it is by a low concen-

tration of NaCl (50 mM or less) [ 2 ]. All halo-

phytes need to regulate their cellular Na

+ , Cl - and

+ concentrations as they adjust to the external

water potential. However species differ in the

succulence ( water content per unit area of leaf);

[ 1 ] and in the solutes accumulated. Detailed

account of salinity tolerance in ﬂ owering plants

is given in [ 3 ].

Nearly all salt-tolerant plants belong to the

angiosperms, although a few are ferns (in families

Pteridaceae and Ophioglossaceae). Halophytes

are widely distributed among the families of

ﬂ owering plants, and are found in about a third

of the total plant families [ 4 ]. There are about

500 genera of halophytes worldwide, of which

about half belong to only 20 families (Table 1 ).

Amongst monocotyledons, the Poaceae contain

more halophytic genera than any other family

(7 % of the family), in Cyperaceae 14 % of the

genera are halophytic. Amongst the eudicots,

Chenopodiaceae has the highest proportion of

halophytic genera followed by Asteraceae,

Aizoaceae, Leguminosae, Apiaceae, Euphor-

biaceae, Brassicaceae, Plantaginaceae and

Caryophyllaceae [ 1 ]. [In the APG III (2009)

classiﬁ cation Chenopodiaceae is included in the

Amaranthaceae. In this chapter, for the sake of

convenience, we have kept the name Chenopo-

diaceae as used earlier.]

2 Distribution and

Biogeography of the SW

Asia Halophytic Flora

A fair amount of literature exists on halophytes of

the countries of SW Asia and a number of papers

are present on the physiology and germination

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

108

studies of halophytes [ 1 , 3 ]. More recently, several

studies have concentrated on the phylogeny of

halophytes mainly in the Family Chenopodiaceae

leading to revised classiﬁ cations and changes in

the nomenclature of species [ 5 ].

A total of 728 taxa of halophytes are recorded

for SW Asia. This information has been collated

from Published sources of which the main ones

are: Pakistan: [ 6 ]; Turkey: [ 7 – 14 ]; Iran: [ 15 ];

Arabian Peninsula: [ 16 – 18 ]; Jordan: [ 17 ] (Fig. 3 ).

Nomenclature of taxa (especially those in the

Chenopodiaceae) are updated to the accepted

names as provided in various publications [

5 ,

20 – 25 ].

Names of taxa are databased in [ 26 ] used at

the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. This data base

will be updated as and when new information

becomes available. A preliminary checklist (of

Fig. 2 Climate diagrams of nine countries of SW Asia

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

109

names only) is produced from this database

which is given in the Appendix .

From the data available, Turkey has the

most halophytes (±600 taxa), followed by Pakistan

(± 361 taxa), ( Iran ± 350 taxa), Afghanistan,

Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen (±120 taxa).

Halophytes in SW Asia constitute about half the

number of halophyte taxa (and families) recorded

for the world by [ 27 ].

In general, saline and arid environments are

poor in species. Of the total 415 plant families

[ 28 ] halophytes of SW Asia are recorded in 68

families (117 families worldwide as recorded

[ 27 ]). The majority of halophytes belong to the

families Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Leguminosae:

Papiliondeae, Asteraceae and Cyperaceae.

Chenopodiaceae has the largest number of spe-

cies and genera of all families only exceeded by

Poaceae which has more genera (but fewer spe-

cies) than Chenopodiaceae (Table 1 ). These data

are in accordance with that found for halophytes

of the world [ 1 ] (Table 2 ).

The SW Asian ﬂ ora mainly falls within the

Saharo-Sindian and Irano-Turanian ﬂ oristic

Table 1 Families, genera and species in the halophytic

families of SW Asia

Family Genera Species

Chenopodiaceae s.str. 49 183

Poaceae 55 112

Asteraceae 26 55

Leguminosae: Papilionoideae 27 48

Cyperaceae 10 44

Zygophyllaceae 8 17

Caryophyllaceae 8 16

Tamaricaceae 2 16

Juncaceae 1 15

Boraginaceae 9 14

Apiaceae 7 13

Brassicaceae 9 12

Polygonaceae 4 10

Liliaceae 3 10

Apocynaceae 8 9

Euphorbiaceae 2 9

Aizoaceae 5 8

Lamiaceae 5 8

Leguminosae: Mimosoideae 2 8

Plantaginaceae 2 7

Gentianaceae 3 7

Plumbaginaceae 3 6

Solanaceae 3 6

Ranunculaceae 4 5

Primulaceae 4 4

Arecaceae 2 4

Cymodoceaceae 2 4

Iridaceae 2 4

Rosaceae 1 4

Typhaceae 1 4

Malvaceae 3 3

Rhizophoraceae 3 3

Verbenaceae 3 3

Convolvulaceae 2 3

Hydrocharitaceae 2 3

Frankeniaceae 1 3

Juncaginaceae 1 3

Amaranthaceae s.str. 2 2

Orchidaceae 2 2

Rubiaceae 2 2

Valerianaceae 2 2

Elatinaceae 1 2

Goodeniaceae 1 2

Linaceae 1 2

Myrsinaceae 1 2

Najadaceae 1 2

(continued)

Table 1 (continued)

Family Genera Species

Orobanchaceae 1 2

Portulacaceae 1 2

Thymelaeaceae 1 2

Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae 2 2

Scrophulariaceae 2 1

Avicenniaceae 1 1

Cistaceae 1 1

Combretaceae 1 1

Cynomoriaceae 1 1

Molluginaceae 1 1

Moraceae 1 1

Nyctaginaceae 1 1

Pandanaceae 1 1

Pedaliaceae 1 1

Resedaceae 1 1

Rhamnaceae 1 1

Ruppiaceae 1 1

Salicaceae 1 1

Sonneratiaceae 1 1

Sterculiaceae 1 1

Tiliaceae 1 1

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

110

regions [ 29 , 30 ], to which the majority of the

halophytic communities belong.

Biogeographically, the Irano-Turanian region,

including the area around Persian Gulf and west-

ern Pakistan (Makran and Baluchistan) can be

considered as a centre of diversity of many halo-

phytic genera of Chenopodiaceae such as

Bienertia , Caroxylon , Climacoptera , Gamanthus ,

Halanthium , Halimocnemis , Halostachys ,

Kalidium , Piptoptera , Petrosimonia , Salsola and

Suaeda . Except the cosmopolitan genus Suaeda

s.lat. and Eurasian and African genus Salsola

s.lat., all other genera are exclusively Irano-

Turanian endemics [ 15 , 31 ]. The largest diver-

sity both in quantity and sections in the Salsola

can be seen in SW and Central Asia. The genus

Tamarix , as a second important halophytic genus

in SW Asia is similar in its diversity to Salsola

such that most are found in the Irano-Turanian

region and a few species in the Mediterranean

area, North and South Africa [ 32 ]. Halocnemum

strobilaceum is the most salt tolerant and com-

mon halophyte in northern Iran, Afghanistan and

Central Asia, but less common in southern Iran

and the Arabian Peninsula.

2.1 Turkey

In Turkey there are about 300 species that are true

halophytes with Chenopodiaceae, Asteraceae and

Fabaceae at the top of the list [

7 ]. There are

coastal and inland halophytic habitats in Turkey,

coastal halophytic habitats are mainly distributed

in Mediterranean and Aegean Sea coasts, and

there are also a few in Black Sea and Marmara

Sea coasts. The most common coastal halophytic

species in Turkey are Cakile maritima, Salicornia

emerici, Sarcocornia perennis, Sarcocornia

obclavata, Arthrocnemum macrostachyum and

Atriplex portulacoides . Inland halophytic habi-

tats are mainly distributed in Central and Eastern

Anatolia. Species composition of Eastern

Anatolian salt marshes and salt stepes is quite

similar to North western Iranian salt marshes and

F i g . 3 Number of halophytic species in countries of SW

Asia. TUR Turkey, PA K Pakistan, IRN Iran, SAU Saudi

Arabia, OMA Oman, AFG Afghanistan, YEM Yemen,

GST-UA United Arab Emirates, IRQ Iraq, GST-QA Qatar,

GST-BA Bahrain (Data from published sources – see

references)

Table 2 Families of ﬂ owering plants in which halophytic

genera worldwide occur most frequently

Family Percentage of halophytic genera

Chenopodiaceae 44

Aizoaceae 15

Cyperaceae 14

Caryophyllaceae 11

Poaceae 7

Arecaceae 6

Asteraceae 3

Fabaceae 3

Adapted from [ 1 ]

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

111

salt steppes. Central Anatolia is the richest region

in terms of halophytic species as several salt and

brackish water lakes are present there with Tuz

Lake (Konya-Ankara- Aksaray), Seyfe Lake

(Kırşehir) and Sultansazlığı (Kayseri) as some of

the largest ones surrounded by salt marshes [ 9 ].

Tuz Lake is a special case as it also has the high-

est endemism of halophytes in Turkey. Detailed

studies on the vegetation are given by [ 33 – 37 ].

Halophytic vegetation usually forms zones

depending on the salinity of the soils. Aksoy and

Hamzaoğlu [ 37 ] give the zonation of the halo-

phytic vegetation of Central Anatolia. In the ﬁ rst

zone where salt density is maximum (Tuz Lake,

Seyfe Lake and Sultansazlığı), Salicornia freita-

gii, S. perennas and Halocnemum strobilaceum

are dominant. The general cover in this zone

ranges between 10 and 80 % and depends on the

concentration of salt. The width of this zone also

differs and depends on the topography of the

area. It is narrower in areas where the slopes are

steeper, but can continue for kilometers where

the slopes are low. Because of its high and ﬂ uctu-

ating salinity, this zone is poor in terms of species

richness, with one to ten species occurring and no

endemics. Halocnemum strobilaceum , one of the

dominant species in this zone can also be found

in the second zone where the salt concentration is

less. Depending on the gradually decreasing

salinity a second zone can be recognised with an

increase in the number of species. Where a water

source is not present, succulents and hemicrypto-

phyts are dominant and the species richness

ranges between 65 and 80 species, and endemism

between 16 and 21 %. The most common species

in this zone are Limonium iconicum , Frankenia

hirsuta , Lepidium cartilagineum , Atriplex verru-

cifera , Caroxylon stenopterum ( Salsola stenop-

tera ), Puccinellia convoluta and Halocnemum

strobilaceum. Limonium iconicum , Lepidium

cartilagineum and Caroxylon stenopterum are

endemic to the salt marshes of Central Anatolia.

Where a water source feeding the marsh is

present, tall herbaceous hemicryptophyts are

dominant. Amongst these, Elymus elongatus ,

Puccinellia koeieana subsp. anatolica , Inula

aucherana , Juncus maritimus , Juncus heldreichi-

anus subsp. orientalis and Puccinellia convoluta

are dominant. The number of species ranges

between 45 and 60 and endemism between 26

and 32 %. Generally speaking families

Chenopodiaceae and Plumbaginaceae are domi-

nant where the salt marshes are not fed by a

water source, while Poaceae and Juncaceae are

dominant where water is available and feeds the

salt marshes [ 35 , 38 , 39 ].

The outermost zone of the salt marshes of

Central Anatolia is characterized by Artemisia

santonicum . This zone, called the “salty steppe”,

borders with the non-halophytic communities.

Succulent species are mostly absent; Artemisia

santonicum is dominant sometimes with a cover

of 70 %. Other common species of this zone

are Peganum harmala , Alhagi pseudalhagi ,

Achillea santolinoides subsp. wilhelmsii ,

Noaea mucronata subsp. mucronata and Apera

intermedia . The number of species ranges

between 70 and 95 and endemism is between

17 and 23 %.

2.2 The Arabian Peninsula

About 140 taxa are recorded as halophytes in the

Arabian Peninsula. This constitutes about 4 % of

the total ﬂ ora of the Arabian Peninsula (± 3500

taxa). Not surprisingly the majority of halophytes

belong to the families Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae,

Zygophyllaceae, Fabaceae and Plumbaginaceae.

Table 3 shows the distribution of halophytic taxa

and their families in the Arabian Peninsula [ 16 ,

17 , 19 , 40 – 50 ].

Key species in saline habitats of Arabia are

nearly always perennial. The predominant life-

forms are succulent, semi-woody dwarf shrubs

belonging to the families Chenopodiaceae,

Zygophyllaceae and Plumbaginaceae, and

hemicryptophytes with runners and spiny

leaves belonging to the families Poaceae and

Juncaceae. Annual succulents such as Bienertia

cycloptera and Tetraena simplex are excep-

tions. Coastal species are either obligate

halophytes like the representatives of the

families Chenopodiaceae, Frankeniaceae and

Plumbaginaceae, or salt tolerant genera from

unspecialized families, such as Sporobolus and

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

112

Aeluropus (Poaceae), or salt secreting species

such as Avicennia (Acanthaceae) and Limonium

(Plumbaginaceae). The most common coastal

and salt tolerant species are Arthrocnemum

macrostachyum, Halocnemum strobilaceum,

Halopeplis perfoliata, Salsola spp., Suaeda

spp., (Chenopodiaceae); Aeluropus lagopoides,

Odyssea mucronata, Sporobolus spicatus, S.

consimilis (Poaceae); Juncus rigidus (Juncaceae),

Tetraena spp. (Zygophyllaceae); Limonium

spp. (Plumbaginaceae) and Avicennia marina

(Acanthaceae) [

18 , 50 ].

The submerged coastal vegetation of the

Arabian Peninsula especially that of the Gulf, has

been particularly well studied owing to the rapid

coastal development. The submerged seagrass

beds are one of the most important vegetation

types and highly productive ecosystems of great

importance to the marine fauna especially the

marine turtles, shrimps and numerous species of

ﬁ sh. Sheppard et al. [

51 ] report four species of

seagrasses from the Gulf, Halodule uninervis ,

H. wrightii , Halophila stipulacea , H. ovalis and

Syringodium isoetifolium. Ruppia maritima is also

reported in several coastal lagoons [

52 ]. Halodule

uninervis , Halophila stipulacea , H. ovalis are

most widespread and the most common.

2.3 Iran

The halophytic and salt tolerant ﬂ ora of Iran is

very diverse compared to other countries of

SW Asia. About 365 species in 51 genera and

44 families of vascular plants are recorded as

true halophytes [ 15 ]. Akhani [ 15 ] lists 12 halophytic

plant communities for Iran: (1) Mangrove

communities (Avicennio Sonneratietea); (2)

Submerged aquatic plant communities

(Ruppietea maritimae); (3) Annual obligatory

hygro-halophytic communities on sea, lake and

river marshes dominated by stem or leaf succu-

lent C3 chenopods (Thero-Salicornietea); (4)

Semi-woody or perennial halophytic communi-

ties on muddy or coastal salt ﬂ ats dominated by

stem succulent C3 chenopods (Salicornietea

fruticosae); (5) Hydrophilous euryhalophytic

rush communities, Phragmitetea australis; (6)

Halophytic grassland and herbaceous perennial

sedge communities belonging to genera

Puccinellia and Juncus (Juncetea maritimi); (7)

Salt marsh and riverine brushwood communi-

ties dominated by salt-excreting halophytes

(Tamaricetea ramosissimae, prov.); (8): Annual

halophytic communities dominated by C4 che-

nopods in temporary moist and inundated, or

Table 3 Number of halophytic taxa in plant families in the Arabian Peninsula [ 18 ]

Family No. halophytic species Family No. halophytic species

Acanthaceae 1 Juncaceae 2

Aizoaceae 4 Liliaceae 1

Apocynaceae 2 Mimosaceae 2

Arecaceae 1 Najadaceae 1

Asteraceae 2 Orobanchaceae 1

Boraginaceae 2 Plumbaginaceae 6

Chenopodiaceae 41 Poaceae 17

Caryophyllacae 8 Portulacaceae 1

Ceratophyllaceae 1 Potamogetonaceae 1

Convolvulaceae 2 Rhizophoraceae 2

Cymodoceaceae 3 Ruppiaceae 1

Cynomoriaceae 1 Salvadoraceae 1

Cyperaceae 4 Tamaricaceae 3

Fabaceae 5 Typhaceae 1

Frankeniaceae 1 Zygophyllaceae 11

Hydrocharitaceae 2

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

113

disturbed salty soils (Climacopteretea crassae,

prov.); (9) Halophytic shrubby, semi-woody or

hemicrytophytic communities on salty and dry

soils dominated by leaf or stem succulent C4

chenopods (Haloxylo-Salsoletea tomentosae,

prov.); (10) Halophytic shrub communities on

salty and sandy coastal or margin of sabkhas

with high water table dominated by Nitraria

schoberi and Reaumuria fruticosa ; (11)

Psamohalophytic shrub communities along

sandy coasts of Persian Gulf and Oman sea

(Sphaerocomion aucheri and communities of

Tetraena qatarense and Heliotropium bac-

ciferum s.lat.; (12) Unclassiﬁ ed halophytic

communities of herbaceous perennial and

hemicryptophyte halophytic communities of

secondary origin.

Four distribution patterns are distinguished

amongst the halophytes in the Irano-Turanian

ﬂ oristic region of Iran [ 15 ]: (1) The Aralo-

Caspian/Central Iranian species which contains

the highest number of taxa. Examples of this

group are Suaeda arcuata, Suaeda linifolia,

Nitraria schoberi, Climacoptera turcomanica,

Halimocnemis pilifera, H. mollissima, H. longi-

folia, Bassia eriantha, Gamanthus gamocarpus,

Bienertia cycloptera, Petrosimonia glaucescens,

Halothamnus subaphyllus, Haloxylon ammoden-

dron, Xylosalsola arbuscula, S. arbusculiformis,

Caroxylon incanescens ; (2) The Central Iranian

endemics such as Caroxylon abarghuensis,

Anabasis haussknechtii, A. calcarea, Hypocylix

kerneri ( Salsola kerneri ) , Salicornia persica,

Hypericopsis persica, Limonium perfoliatum

and Halimocnemis occulta (3) Endemic species

in Azerbaijan or linking species between Iran,

Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Examples

are Gamanthus pilosus, Kali tamamschjanae

( Salsola tamamschjanae ) , Salsola ericoides,

Salsola dendroides, Caroxylon persicum ( Salsola

persica ) , Suaeda dendroides and Suaeda graci-

lis. The discovery of two extremely endangered

disjunct species Asparagus lycaonicus and

Microcnemum corralloides in West Iran and

Central Anatolia are interesting phytogeographi-

cal links between these areas [ 53 , 54 ]; (4) The

fourth group are those species distributed around

and along the Persian Gulf area and further East

into Balochistan of Pakistan. Examples are

Bienertia sinuspersici , Salsola drummondii [ 26 ],

Kali grifﬁ thii ( Salsola grifﬁ thii ) , Suaeda fruticosa,

Halothamnus iranicus, Halanthium purpureum,

Salicornia sp., Suaeda sp., Tamarix kermanen-

sis , Limonium stocksii, lndigofera stricta and

Tetraena qatarense . In southern Iran there are

some Saharo-Arabian, Somalia-Masai and tropi-

cal species such as Avicennia marina, Suaeda

monoica, Juncus socotranus or Saharan- Arabian/

Mediterranean species such as Arthrocnemum

macrostachyum.

2.4 Afghanistan

The saline vegetation of Afghanistan is compa-

rable to that of Iran. The large arid and saline

regions of Afghanistan (Seistan, Dasht-e-Margo

and Registan) lie in the southwest and southeast

of the country and the vegetation falls under the

inﬂ uence of the Irano-Turanian ﬂ oristic ele-

ments that overlaps with that of Iran and to some

extent that of northern Pakistan. Amongst the

halophytic communities, Halocnemum strobila-

ceum with Salsola rosmarinus ( Seidlitzia ros-

marinus ) is dominant in most of the saline areas.

Halocnemum strobilaceum is the most abundant

halophyte in northern Iran, Afghanistan and

Central Asia. Other species include those of

Haloxylon , Anabasis , Aeluropus lagopoides ,

Atriplex , Limonium , Lycium , Fortuynia ,

Alhagi , Salsola and Tetraena spp. ( Zygophyllum )

[ 55 , 56 ].

2.5 Iraq

The halophytic vegetation in Iraq is present in

the large desert areas of southwest Iraq. As for

most arid regions, the ﬂ ora of Iraq is poor in

species, with the majority of the perennial

plants in saline areas belonging to the family

Chenopodiaceae [ 57 ].

The following account is adapted from [ 57 ] and

[ 58 ]. The most characteristic plant communities

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

114

with halophytic ﬂ ora are: (1) Haloxyletum ammo-

dendri. The main component of this association

is Haloxylon ammodendron (= H. aphylla ), which

is found only in the sandy desert with unstabilized

sand dunes, also prevalent in southern Palestine

and northern Arabia. In Iraq this community

stretches along the Euphrates sand-belt. It is evi-

dent that this community was once much more

widespread and closed than it is perhaps in recent

times due to degradation from fuel gatherers who

use it for making charcoal. The dominant species

is Haloxylon ammodendron , common associates

are Panicum turgidum and Calligonum comosum ;

other members of this community include species

such as Haloxylon salicornicum , Salsola spp.,

Aristida plumosa , Salsola rosmarinus , Moltkiopsis

ciliata , Neurada procumbens , Plantago spp.,

Cyperus conglomeratus , Silene villosa ,

Anisosciadium lanatum , Eremobium aegyptiacum ,

Cutandia memphitica , Bassia muricata and

Astragalus gyzensis. Cistanche is parasitic on the

saline shrubs especially Haloxylon ; (2)

Haloxyletum salicornici . This is the most charac-

teristic and important community of the desert

region of Iraq and is widespread throughout the

deserts of the Arabian Peninsula [ 44 , 59 ]. This

community is found on calcareous substrate with a

gypsophilous underlying substrate. The dominant

species of this community is Haloxylon salicorni-

cum which usually grows in small mounds made

from aeolian sand. Major associates of Haloxylon

salicornicum are Salsola setifera ( Anabasis set-

ifera ), Caroxylon jordanicola ( Salsola jordanic-

ola ), Salsola rosmarinus , Cornulaca aucheri ,

Cymbopogon olivieri , Aristida plumosa , and

Annothamnus gibbous. Salsola rosmarinus is

found on higher ground at the edges of saline mud

ﬂ ats as opposed to the halophyte Halopeplis perfo-

liata found in the sabkhas of the Sultanate of

Oman [ 60 ]. Other associates are Heliotropium

ramosissimum s.lat., Farsetia aegytiaca , Plantago

ciliata , Teucrium oliverianum and Neurada

procumbens ; (3) Zygophylletum coccinei . This

community is usually found on sandy soil overly-

ing saline ﬂ ats. The shrub, Tetraena coccinea

( Zygophyllum coccineum ) grows on small hum-

mocks made from wind-blown sand. In Iraq often

found in the southern desert, this species often

occurs near the sea in Kuwait and southern Arabia;

(4) Seidlitzietum rosmarini . This is another halo-

phytic or semi-halophytic community often found

on fringes of saline or brackish water pools. Other

Salsola species are often associated with Salsola

rosmarinus in this community; (5) Halocnemum

strobilacei . This is the most characteristic commu-

nity of sabkha areas and is prevalent on the saline

mud-ﬂ ats in south western Iraq. Halocnemum

strobilaceum is the dominant species, with occa-

sional associates of Aeluropus lagopoides and

Cressa cretica ; (6) Bienertietum cyclopterae . This

community consisting of a single species,

Bienertia cycloptera , is found on margins of small

saline depressions in sandy areas. Associated with

it in some areas, such as at the margins of Bahr al

Milh in the western desert, are Frankenia pulveru-

lenta and Aleuropus lagopoides . In addition to

these communities, scattered plants of Tamarix

passerinoides , and Peganum harmala are often

found in saline habitats. In particular Peganum

harmala is present often on disturbed and waste

ground where there is a high level of soil nitrates.

Ziziphus nummularia is a constant species of

sandy depressions.

2.6 Pakistan

The halophytic ﬂ ora of Pakistan has been sum-

marised by [ 6 ]. They list the distribution, life

form and potential economic uses of about 410

taxa. As with most halophytes, the family

Chenopodiaceae has the highest number of spe-

cies (90 spp.) followed by Poaceae (68 spp.),

Cyperaceae (30 spp.), Fabaceae (29 spp.),

Asteraceae (24 spp.) and Tamaricaceae (23 spp.).

Most of the halophytes are found in the

Balochistan plains and Sind (especially coastal);

fewer halophytes are found in the mountains,

Potwar plateau and the deserts of Punjab [ 6 ].

Balochistan is the most species rich in halo-

phytic diversity. There are several brackish

lakes in the Salt Range in the Punjab (Kalar

Kahar in Chakwal District, Khabikki Lake in

Soan Sakesar valley) and Hadero Lake in Sind

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

115

(which is also a wildlife bird sanctuary) that

show a range of halophytes.

The most distinctive halophytic ﬂ ora is found

in the mangroves of the coastal tidal zone in Sind

and Balochistan with Avicennia , Sonneratia ,

Rhizophora , Ceriops , Aegicerus and Scaveola .

The inland, saline desert areas and plains of

Balochistan are poor in species and are domi-

nated by Tamarix , with Haloxylon , Atriplex ,

Salsola , and other halophytes as associates.

3 Economic Uses

Halophytes have their greatest potential in

their utilization in restoration of degraded

saline locations, coastal stabilization, produc-

tion of cheap biomass for renewable energy,

cash crops for fodder, medicine, building mate-

rials and other utilitarian objects and for

sequestering CO

2 .

The use of halophytes as fodder, food plants,

medicinals and fuel wood has been documented

extensively for most regions of SW Asia [ 6 , 61 –

63 ]. Ghazanfar in her works on the medicinal

plants of the Arabian Peninsula [ 64 ] and The

Middle East [ 60 ] lists uses of several halo-

phytes. Species such as Portulaca oleracea ,

Aerva javanica , Vernonia cinerea and

Heliotropium have been used traditionally in the

treatment of skin disorders, burns, stings and

insect bites; Apium graveolens and Centella asi-

atica have been used as diuretics; Artemesia as

an antihelmintic, Teucrium spp. for abdominal

pain and colic, and Salvadora persica as tooth

cleaner. The multiple uses of Cocos nucifera

and Phoenix dactylifera have been known since

ancient times, as have the uses of species of

Typha and Phragmites for making thatching,

mats and boats.

The use of halophytes is also studied as

potential biomass crops to directly sequester up

to 0.7 Gt C, similar to tree plantations [ 66 ].

Halophytes can play a role in absorbing C from

the atmosphere while providing food, fodder

and energy crops on previously unused saline

land. Thus, through halophyte plantations,

unused saline land can be restored and become

productive.

Appendix: A Preliminary List

of the Halophytes of SW Asia

Several names in the Che nopodiaceae are still

unresolved. Only critical synonyms are provided.

AIZOACEAE

Aizoon canariense L.

Mesembryanthemum crystillinum L.

Mesembryanthemum nodiﬂ orum L.

Sesuvium verrucosum Raf.

Sesuvium sesuvioides (Fenzl) Verdc.

Sesuviumportulacastrum (L.) L.

Trianthema portulacastrum L.

Trianthema triquetra Rott. ex Willd.

Zaleya pentandara (L.) Jeffrey

ACANTHACEAE

Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh.

Syn.: Sceura marina Forssk . (formerly in

Avicenniaceae)

AMARANTHACEAE s.str.

Aerva javanica (Brum.f.) Juss. ex J.A. Schultes

Amaranthus retroﬂ exus L.

APIACEAE

Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam.

Apium graveolens L.

Apium nodiﬂ orum (L.) Lag.

Bupleurum euboeum Beauverd

Syn.: Bupleurum gracile auct. mult. non

(M.Bieb.) DC. non Odontites gracilis Bie;

Bupleurum heldreichii Boiss. & Bal.

Bupleurum semicompotisum L.

Syn.: Bupleurum glaucum Ledeb.

Bupleurum tenuissimum L.

Bupleurum turcicum Snogerup

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban

Echinophora orientalis Hedge & Lamond

Syn.: Echinophora trichophylla J.E. Smith

Falcaria falcarioides (Bornm. & Wolff) Wolff

Syn.: Pimpinella falcarioides Bornm. & Wolff

Ferula caspica M. Bieb.

Syn.: Ferula aciphylla M. Bieb. ex Ledeb.; Ferula

orientalis Eichw.; Peucedanum caspicum

(M. Bieb.) Link

Ferula halophila Pesmen

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

116

APOCYNACEAE (incl. Asclepiadaceae)

Calotropis procera (Ait.) Ait.

Cionura erecta (L.) Griseb.

Syn .: Cionura erectum (L.) Griseb.

Cynanchum acutum L. subsp. acutum

Syn .: Cynanchum monspeliacum L.

Glossonema varians (Stocks.) Hook. f.

Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne.

Oxystelma esculentum (Linn. f.) R. Brown

Pentatropis nivalis (J.F. Gmel.) D.V. Field &

J.R.I. Wood

Pergularia daemia (Forssk.) Chiov.

Pergularia tomentosa L.

ARECACEAE

Cocos nucifera L.

Phoenix caespitosa Chiov.

Syn.: Phoenix comorensis Becc.

Phoenix dactylifera L.

Phoenix reclinata Jacq.

ASTERACEAE

Achillea millefolium L. subsp. millefolium

Achillea santolinoides subsp. wilhelmsii (K. Koch )

Greuter

Syn.: Achillea wilhelmsii K. Koch

Achillea schischkinii Sosn.

Syn.: Achillea muschensis Bornm.

Achillea sieheana Stapf

Syn.: Achillea salsuginea Bornm.

Anthemis halophila Boiss. & Bal.

Syn.: Anthemis alexandrettae Eig

Artemisia campestris L.

Artemisia herba-alba Asso

Syn.: Artemisia arragonensis Lam.; Artemisia

herba-alba Asso var. tenuifolia Boiss.

Artemisia santonicum L.

Syn.: Artemisia maritima (Waldst. & Kit)

Gams subsp. monogyna ; Artemisia monogyna

Waldst. & Kit.

Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit.

Aster tripolium L.

Syn.: Tripolium vulgare Nees

Bellis annua L.

Bellis perennis L.

Syn.: Bellis armena Boiss.

Bellis sylvestris Cyr.

Bidens cernua L.

Centaurea balsamita Lam.

Centaurea halophila Hub.-Mor.

Centaurea tuzgoluensis Aytaç & Duman

Centaurea virgata Lam.

Cirsium alatum (Gmelin) Bobrov subsp.

alatum

Syn.: Serratula alata Gmelin

Cousinia birandiana Hub.-Mor.

Cousinia humilis Boiss.

Syn.: Arctium humile (Boiss.) O. Kuntze

Crepis foetida L. subsp. rhoeadifoli (M. Bieb.)

Celak.

Syn.: Crepis foetida L. var. rhoeadifoli Boiss.;

Crepis nemetzii Rech.f.; Crepis nestmeiri

Herro. & Degen; Crepis rhoeadifoli M. Bieb.

Crepis sancta (L.) Babcock

Syn.: Crepinia marschalliana Reichb.; Crepis

kochiana Boiss.; Crepis sancta subsp. biﬁ da

(Vis.) Babcock; Crepis sancta subsp. nemau-

sensis (Gouan) Babcock; Crepis sancta subsp.

obovata (Boiss. & Noe) Babcock; Hieracium

sanctum L.; Lagoseris orientalis Boiss.

Cymbolaena grifﬁ thii (A. Gray) Wagenitz

Handelia tricophylla (Schrenk.) Heimerl

Inula aucherana DC.

Syn.: Inula armena Bordz.; Inula seidlitzii Boiss.

Inula britannica L.

Inula crithmoides L.

Inula graveolens (L.) Desf.

Syn.: Dittrichia graveolens (L.) Greuter; Erigeron

graveolens L.

Iphiona aucherii (Boiss.) Anderb.

Launaea procumbens (Roxb.) Ramayya &

Rajagopal

Microcephala lamellate (Bunge) Pobed.

Mulgedium tataricum (L.) DC.

Pluchea arguta Boiss.

Pluchea dioscoridis (L.) DC.

Syn.: Conyza dioscoridis Desf.

Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (L.) O.M.

Hilliard & B.L. Burtt

Pulicaria boissieri Hook. f.

Pulicaria carnosa (Boiss.) Burkill.

Pulicaria dysenterica (L.) Bernh.

Syn.: Inula dysenterica L.; Pulicaria dysenterica

var. microcephala Boiss.; Pulicaria uliginosa

Stev.

Pulicaria gnaphalodes (Vent.) Boiss.

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

117

Pulicaria hadramautica E. Gmal-Eldin &

Boulos

Pulicaria undulata (L.) C.A. Meyer

Senecio doriiformis DC. subsp. orientalis

(Fenzl) Matthews

Syn.: Senecio doriaeformis DC. var. megaloph-

ron ; Senecio doriaeformis DC. var. orientais ;

Senecio nemorensis L. var. orientalis

Senecio salsuginea H. Duman & Vural

Seriphidium quettense (Podlech) Ling

Sonchus asper (L.) Hill subsp. asper

Sonchus erzincanicus Matthews

Sonchus maritimus L.

Sonchus tenerrimus L.

Taraxacum bessarabicum (Hornem.) Hand.-

Mazz. var. bessarabicum

Syn.: Leontodon besarabicus Hornem.;

Taraxacum fulvipile Harv.; Taraxacum lepto-

cephalum Rchb.; Taraxacum stenocephalum

Boiss. & Kotschy ex Boiss.

Taraxacum farinosum Hausskn. & Bomm.

Taraxacum mirabile Wagenitz

Taraxacum tuzgoluensis Yildirimli & A.

Dogrukoca var. tuzgoluensis

Taraxacum tuzgoluensis Yildirimli & A.

Dogrukoca var. eskilensis Yildirimli & A.

Dogrukoca

Tripleurospermum callosum (Fisch. & Mey.)

Bornm.

Tripleurospermum decipiens (Boiss. & Heldr.)

E. Hossain

Syn.: Chamaemelum decipiens (Fisch. & Mey.)

Boiss.; Pyrethrum decipiens Fisch. & Mey.

Xanthium sibiricum Patrin. ex Widder

BORAGINACEAE

Caccinia macranthera (Banks & Sol.) Braﬁ d

var. macranthera

Syn.: Borago macranthera Banks & Sol.

Conringia persica Boiss.

Coronopus didymus (L.) Smith

Cynoglossum creticum Miller

Heliotropium aucheri DC.

Heliotropium bacciferum Forssk. s.lat.

Syn.: Heliotropium undulatum Vahl; H. ramosis-

simum (Lehm.) DC.; H. kotschyi Bunge nom.

nud.; H. Persicum auct., Boiss.; H. lignosum

Bornm.; H. fartakense O. Schwartz

Heliotropium curassavicum L.

Heliotropium dolosum De Not.

Syn.: Heliotropium eichwaldii Steud.; Heliotropium

macrocarpum Guss.

Heliotropium lasiocarpum Fisch. & Mey.

Syn.: Heliotropium eichwaldii Steud. var. lasio-

carpum (Fisch & Mey.) C. B. Clarke;

Heliotropium ellipticum Ledeb. var. lasiocar-

pum (Fisch. & Mey.) M. Popov; Heliotropium

europaeum L. var. tenuiﬂ orum Boiss.;

Heliotropium tenuifolium Bunge non Guss.

Heliotropium remotiﬂ orum Rech.f. & Riedl

Moltkia coerulea (Willd.) Lehm.

Syn.: Moltkia anatolica Boiss.; Moltkia punctata

Lehm.; Onosma coeruleum Willd.

Moltkiopsis ciliata (Forssk.) I.M. Johnst.

Onosma halophilum Boiss. & Heldr.

Tournefortia sibirica L. var. sibirica

Syn.: Tournefortia sibirica L.

BRASSICACEAE

Cakile maritima Scop.

Syn.: Cakile euxina Pobed. ex Grossheim

Dilophia salsa Thompson

Erysimum crassipes Fisch. & Mey.

Eutrema parvulum (Schrenk) Al-Shehbaz &

Warwick

Iberis halophila Vural & H. Duman

Isatis kotschyana Boiss. & Hohen.

Lepidium latifolium L.

Lepidium cartilagineum (J. May) Thell.

Syn.: Lepidium caespitosum Desv.; Lepidium

cartilagineum (J. May.) Thell. subsp. caespi-

tosum ; Lepidium cartilagineum (J. May.)

Thell. subsp. crassifolium (Waldst. & Kit.)

Thell.; Lepidium crassifolium Waldst. & Kit.;

Lepidium crenatifolium Boiss. & Bal.; Thlaspi

cartilagineum J. May.

Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv.

Raphanus raphanistrum L.

Sinapis arvensis L.

Sisymbrium loeselii L.

Syn.: Sisymbrium glabratum Schulz

CARYOPHYLLACEAE

Cerastium dubium (Bastard) Guepin

Syn.: Cerastium anomalum Waldst. & Kit.

Cerastium glomeratum Thuill.

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

118

Gypsophila oblanceolata Bark.

Gypsophila perfoliata L.

Syn.: Gypsophila anatolica Boiss. & Heldr.;

Gypsophila hygrophila Post; Gypsophila

pauli Klokov; Gypsophila tekirae Stef.;

Gypsophila trichotoma Wenderoth

Minuartia urumiensis (Bornm.) Bornm.

Syn.: Alsine urumiensis Bornm.

Polycarpaea spicata Wight ex Arn. var. spicata

Polycarpaea spicata Wight ex Arn. var. capil-

laris Balf. f.

Saponaria halophila Hedge & Hub.-Mor

Saponaria karapinarensis Vural & N. Adygüzel

Silene nocturna L.

Silene salsuginea Hub.-Mor.

Spergularia diandra (Guss.) Heldr.

Syn.: Arenaria diandra L.; Spergulariasalsuginea

Fenzl

Spergularia marina (L.) Gris.

Syn.: Arenaria rubra var. campestris L.; Arenaria

rubra L. var. marina ; Spergula marina (L.)

Bartl. & H. L. Wendl.; Spergularia campestris

(L.) Aschers.; Spergularia salina J.& C. Presl

Spergularia media (L.) C. Presl

Syn.: Arenaria media L.; Spergularia marginata

(DC.) Kitt.

Spergularia rubra (L.) J. & C. Presl

Sphaerocoma aucheri Boiss.

CHENOPODIACEAE

Anabasis aphylla L.

Syn.: Anabasis aphylla Iljin subsp. australis ;

Anabasis aphylla Iljin subsp. rubra ; Anabasis

tatarica Pall.

Anabasis calcarea (Charif & Aellen) Bokhari &

Wendelbo

Anabasis ehrenbergii Schwinf. ex Boiss.

Anabasis eugeniae Iljin

Anabasis haussknechtii Bunge ex Boiss.

Anabasis iranica Iljin

Anabasis lachnantha Allen & Rech.f.

Anabasis salsa (C.A. Mey.) Benth.

Arthrocnemum macrostachyum (Moric.)

K. Koch

Syn.: Arthrocnemum fruticosum (L.) var. macro-

stachyum (Moric.) Moq.;

Salicornia macrostachya Moric.; Arthrocnemem

glaucum (Delile) Ung.-Sternb.

Atriplex aucheri Moq.

Syn.: Atriplex amblyostegia Turcz.; Atriplex hor-

tensis L. subsp. desertorum (Sosn.) Aellen;

Atriplex nitens Schkuhr subsp. aucheri (Moq.)

Takht. & A.A. Fedor.; Atriplex nitens Schkuhr

subsp. desertorum Iljin

Atriplex davisii Aellen

Atriplex dimorphostegia Kar. & Kir.

Atriplex farinosa Forssk. subsp. farinosa

Atriplex ﬂ abellum Bunge ex Boiss

Atriplex halimus L.

Atriplex hortensis L.

Atriplex laevis Ledeb.

Syn.: Atriplex littorale Boiss.

Atriplex lasiantha Boiss.

Atriplex lehmanniana Bunge

Atriplex leucoclada Boiss. var. inamoena

(Allen) Zohary

Syn.: Atriplex inamoena Allen

Atriplex micrantha Ledeb.

Syn.: Atriplex heterosperma Bunge

Atriplex nogalensis Friis & M.G. Gilbert

Atriplex portulacoides L.

Syn.: Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen

Atriplex prostrata Boucher ex DC.

subsp. calotheca (Raf.) M.A. Gust.

Syn.: Atriplex hastata Forssk.

Atriplex sagitata Borkh.

Syn.: Atriplex nitens Schkuhr, nom illegit.

Atriplex schugnanica Iljin

Atriplex stocksii Boiss.

Syn.: Atriplex grifﬁ thii Moq. var. stocksii (Boiss.)

Boiss.

Atriplex tatarica L

Atriplex tatarica L. var. pamirica (Iljin)

G.L. Chu

Syn.: Atriplex pamirica Iljin

Atriplex verrucifera M. Bieb.

Syn.: Halimione verrucifera (M. Bieb.) Aellen

Bassia crassifolia (Pall.) Soldano

Syn.: Salsola stenoptera Wagenitz; Suaeda

crassifolia Pall.

Bassia dasyphylla (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Kuntze

Bassia eriophora (Schrad.) Asch.

Syn.: Kochia eriophora Schrader; Kochia latifo-

lia Fresen.; Londesia eriantha Fisch. & C.A.

Mey.

Bassia hyssopifolia (Pall.) Kuntze

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

119

Bassia odontoptera (Schrenk) Freitag & G.

Kadereit

Syn.: Kochia odontoptera Schrenck; Kochia stel-

laris Moq.; Kochia iranica Litv. ex Bornm.

Bassia muricata (L.) Asch.

Syn.: Salsola muricata L.; Echinopsilon murica-

tus (L.) Moq.; Kochia muricata (L.) Schrad.

Bassia pilosa (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Freitag & G.

Kadereit

Syn.: Panderia pilosa Fisch. & C.A. Mey.

Bassia prostrata (L.) Beck

Syn.: Kochia prostrata (L.) Schrad.; Salsola

prostrata L.

Bassia scoparia (L.) A.J. Scott

Syn.: Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad.

Bassia sedifolia (Pall.) ined.

Syn.: Bassia sedoides Asch. nom. illegit.

Bassia tomentosa (Lowe) Maire & Weiller

Syn.: Chenoleoides tomentosa (Lowe) Botsch

Beta vulgaris L.

Syn.: Beta maritima L.

Bienertia cycloptera Bunge ex Boiss.

Bienertia sinuspersici Akhani

Camphorosma monspeliaca L.

Syn.: Camphorosma ruthenica M. Bieb.

Camphorosma monspeliaca L. subsp. lessingii

(Litv.) Aellen

Syn.: Camphorosma lessingii Litw.

Caroxylon abarghuense (Assadi) Akhani &

Roalson

Syn.: Salsola abarghuense Assadi

Caroxylon canescens (Moq.) Akhani

Syn .: Noaea canescens Moq.; Salsola canescens

(Moq.) Boiss.

Caroxylon carpatha (P.H. Davis) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola carpatha P.H. Davis

Caroxylon chorassanicum (Botsch.) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola chorassanica Botsch.

Caroxylon cyclophyllum (Baker) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola cyclophylla Baker

Caroxylon dzhungaricum (Iljin) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola dzhungarica Iljin

Caroxylon imbricatum (Forsskal) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola imbricata Forssk. ; Salsola foetida

Del. ex Sprengel

Caroxylon incanescens (C.A. Mey.) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola incanescens C.A. Mey.; Salsola

ruthenica lljin

Caroxylon jordanicola (Eig) Akhani & Roalson

Syn.: Salsola jordanicola Eig

Caroxylon nitrarium (Pall.) Akhani & Roalson

Syn.: Salsola nitraria Pall.; Salsola macera Litv.

Caroxylon persicum (Bunge ex Boiss.) Akhani

& Roalson

Syn.: Salsola persica Bunge ex Boiss.

Caroxylon stenopterum (Wagenitz) Akhani &

Roalson

Syn.: Salsola stenoptera Wagenitz

Caroxylon tomentosum (Moq.) Tzvelev

Syn.: Salsola tomentosa (Moq.) Spach

Ceratocarpus arenarius L.

Syn.: Ceratocarpus turkestanicus Sav.-Rycz.

Chenopodium album L. subsp. album var.

album

Syn.: Chenopodium album var. microphyllum Boenn.

Chenopodium album L. subsp. iranicum Aellen

Chenopodium album L. subsp. album

v a r . microphyllum (Boenn.) Aellen

Chenopodium chenopodioides (L.) Aellen

Syn.: Blitum chenopodoides L.; Chenopodium

botryoides Sm.

Chenopodium ﬁ cifolium Sm.

Chenopodium foliosum Asch.

Syn.: Blitum virgatum L.; Morocarpus foliosus

Moench

Chenopodium glaucum L.

Chenopodium murale L.

Chenopodium sosnowskyi Kapeller

Choriptera semhahensis (Vierh.) Botsch.

Syn.: Salsola semhahensis Vierh.

Climacoptera brachiata (Pall.) Botsch.

Climacoptera crassa (M. Bieb.) Botsch.

Climacoptera glaberrima Botsch.

Climacoptera iranica U.P. Pratov

Climacoptera iraqensis Botsch.

Climacoptera lanata (Pall.) Botsch.

Climacoptera longipistillata Botsch.

Climacoptera turcomanica (Litv.) Botsch.

Corispermum korovinii Iljin

Cornulaca aucheri Moq.

Syn.: Cornulaca leucacantha Charif & Aellen

Cornulaca ehrenbergii Asch.

Cornulaca monacantha Delile

Syn.: Cornulaca arabica Botsch.

Cyathobasis fruticulosa (Bunge) Aellen

Syn.: Girgensohnia fruticulosa Bunge

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

120

Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin &

Clemants

Syn.: Chenopodium ambrosioides L.

Dysphania botrys (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants

Syn.: Chenopodium botrys L.

Girgensohnia imbricata Bunge

Girgensohnia minima Korovin

Girgensohnia oppositiﬂ ora (Pall.) Fenzl

Halimocnemis commixtus (Bunge) Akhani

Syn: Gamanthus commixtus Bunge

Halimocnemis gamocarpa Moq.

Syn.: Gamanthus gamocarpus (Moq.) Bunge

Halimocnemis longifolia Bunge

Halimocnemis occulta (Bunge) Hedge

Syn.: Halotis occulta Bunge

Halimocnemis pilifera Moq.

Syn.: Halotis pilifera Botsch

Halimocnemis pilosa Moq.

Syn.: Gamanthus pilosus (Pall.) Bunge;

Halimocnemis pilosa (Pall.) Akhani (later

homonym)

Halimocnemis purpurea Moq.

Syn.: Halanthium purpureum Bunge

Halimocnemis pycnantha K. Koch

Syn.: Halocharis kulpianum K. Koch;

Halanthium kulpianum (K. Koch) Bunge

Halimocnemis rarifolia (K. Koch.) Akhani

Syn.: Halanthium rarifolium K. Koch; Halanthium

roseum Iljin

Halocharis hispida (Schrenk ex C.A. Mey.)

Bunge

Halocharis sulphurea (Moq.) Moq.

Halocnemum strobilaceum (Pallas) M. Bieb

Syn.: Salicornia strobilacea Pallas

Halocnemum yurdakulolii Yaprak

Halogeton alopecuroides (Del.) Moq.

Syn.: Agathophora alopecuroides (Del.) Fenzl ex

Bunge var. alopecuroides ; Agathophora

algeriensis Botsch.; Agathophora alopecuroi-

des (Eig) Botsch.; Agathophora galalensis

Botsch.; Agathophora iraqensis Botsch.

Halogeton glomeratus (M. Bieb.) Ledeb.

Syn.: Anabasis glomerata M. Bieb.

Halogeton glomeratus (M. Bieb.) Ledeb. var.

tibeticus (Bunge) Grubov

Halopeplis nodulosa (Del.) Bunge ex

Ung.-Sternb.

Syn.: Halopeplis amplexicaulis (Vahl.) Bunge ex

Ung.-Sternb.; Salicornia amplexicaulis Vahl.

Halopeplis perfoliata (Forssk.) Bunge ex

Schweinf.

Syn.: Salicornia perfoliata Forssk.

Halopeplis pygmaea (Pall.) Bunge ex

Ung.-Sternb.

Halosarcia indica (Willd.) Paul G. Wilson

Halostachys caspica (M. Bieb.) C.A. Mey. ex

Schrenk.

Syn.: Arthrocnemum belangerianum Moq.;

Halostachys belangeriana (Moq.) Botsch

Halostachys caspica (Moq.) Moq. var. belan-

geriana ; S alicornia caspica Pall.

Halothamnus auriculus (C.A. Mey.) Botch.

subsp. acutifolius (Moq.) Kothe-Heinr.

Halothamnus glaucus (M. Bieb.) Botsch.

Syn.: Caroxylon glaucum (M. Bieb.) Moq.;

Salsola brachyphylla Boiss. & Hausskn.;

Salsola glauca M. Bieb.

Halothamnus iranicus Botsch.

Halothamnus subaphyllus (C.A. Mey.) Botsch.

Haloxylon ammodendron (C.A. Mey.) Bunge

ex Fenzl

Syn.: Haloxylon aphyllum (Minkw.) IIjin

Haloxylon grifﬁ thii (Moq.) Boiss. subsp.

grifﬁ thii

Syn.: Hammada grifﬁ thii (Moq.) Iljin

Haloxylon grifﬁ thii (Moq.) Boiss. subsp.

wakhanicum (Paulsen) Hedge

Haloxylon persicum Bunge ex Boiss. & Buhse

Haloxylon salicornicum (Moq.) Bunge ex

Boiss.

Syn.: Caroxylon salicornicum Moq.; Hammada

salicornica (Moq.) Iljin;

Haloxylon stocksii (Boiss.) Benth. & Hook. f.

Syn.: Haloxylon recurvum (Wall.) Bunge ex

Boiss.

Hammada scoparia (Pomel) Iljin.

Horaninovia ulicina Fisch. & C.A. Mey.

Kali australis (R.Br.) Akhani & Roalson

Syn .: Salsola kali L.; Salsola australis R.Br.

Kali grifﬁ thi (Bunge) Akhani & Roalson

Syn.: Noaea grifﬁ thii Bunge; Salsola grifﬁ thii

(Bunge) Freitag & Akhani

Kali paulsenii (Litv.) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola paulsenii Litv.

Kali tamamschjanae (Iljin) Akhani & Roalson

Syn: Salsola tamamschjanae Iljin

Kali tragus (L.) Scop.

Syn: Salsola tragus L.

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

121

Kalidium caspicum (L.) Ung.-Sternb.

Syn.: Salicornia caspia L.

Kalidium wagenitzii (Aellen) Freitag & G.

Kadereit

Syn.: Kalidiopsis wagenitzii Aellen

Kaviria rubescens (Franch.) Akhani

Syn.: Salsola rubescens Franch.; Salsola hadra-

mautica Baker; Salsola leucophylla Baker.

Kirilowia eriantha Bunge

Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.) Guldenst.

Lagenantha cycloptera (Stapf) M.G. Gilbert &

Friis

Syn.: Salsola cycloptera Stapf; Gyroptera cyclop-

tera (Stapf) Botsch .

Maireana coronata (J.M. Black) Paul G.

Wilson

Micronemum fastigiatum Ung.-Sternb.

Microcnemum coralloides (Loscos & Pardo)

Font-Quer subsp. anatolicum Wagenitz

Syn.: Micronemum fastigiatum Ung.-Sternb.;

Arthrocnemum corraloides (Loscos & Pardo)

Font-Quer

Nanophyton erinaceum (Pall.) Bunge

Noaea minuta Boiss. & Balansa

Noaea mucronata (Forssk.) Asch. & Schweinf.

Syn.: Noaea spinosissima (L. F.) Moq.; Salsola

mucronata Forssk.

Petrosimonia brachiata (Pall.) Bunge

Syn.: Polycnemum brachiatum Pall

Petrosimonia glaucescens (Bunge) Iljin

Syn.: Polycnemum glaucum Pall.

Petrosimonia nigdeensis Aellen

Petrosimonia squarrosa (Schrenk) Bunge

Syn.: Halocnemis squarrosa Schrenk

Pyankovia brachiata (Pall.) Akhani & Roalson

Syn.: Salsola brachiata Pall.

Salicornia bigelovii Torr.

Salicornia dolichostachya Moss

Syn.: Salicornia stricta D. König

Salicornia emerici Duval-Jouve

Salicornia iranica Akhani

Salicornia persica Akhani

Salicornia persica subsp.

rudshurensis Akhani

Salicornia perspolitana Akhani

Salicornia perennas Wild.

Syn.: Salicornia prostrata Pall.

Salicornia sinus-persica Akhani

Salicornia ramosissima J. Woods

Salicornia × tashkensis Akhani

Salsola arbusculiformis Drobov.

Salsola anatolica Aellen

Salsola baryosma (Schult.) Dandy

Syn.: Chenopodium baryosmon Roemer &

Schultes

Salsola crassa M. Bieb.

Salsola cyrenaica (Maire & Weiller) Brullo

subsp. antalyensis Freitag & H. Duman

Salsola dendroides Pall.

Syn.: Salsola verrucosa M. Bieb.

Salsola drummondii Ulbr.

Syn.: Salsola obpyrifolia Botsch & Akhani

Salsola ericoides M. Bieb

Salsola grandis Freitag, Vural & N. Adigüzel

Salsola foliosa (L.) Schrad. ex Schult.

Salsola kerneri (Wol.) Botsch.

Syn.: Hypocylix kerneri Wol.

Salsola laricina Pall.

Salsola leptoclada Gand.

Salsola makranica Freitag

Salsola montana Litv.

Syn.: Salsola masenderanica Botsch.

Salsola nodulosa (Moq.) Iljin

Syn.: Caroxylon nodulosum Moq.

Salsola orientalis S.G. Gmel.

Salsola praecox (Litv.) Iljin

Salsola rosmarinus (Ehrenb. ex Boiss.) Akhani

Syn: Seidlitzia rosmarinus Ehrenb. ex Boiss.

Salsola richteri (Moq.) Karel. ex Litv.

Salsola schweinfurthii Solms-Laub.

Syn.: Darniella schweinfurthii (Solms-Laub.)

Brullo;

Salsola sclerantha C.A. Mey

Salsola setifera (Moq.) Akhani

Syn.: Anabasis setifera Moq.

Salsola soda L.

Salsola turcica Yild.

Salsola turcomanica Litv.

Syn.: Salsola crassa subsp. turcomanica (Litv.)

Freitag

Salsola vermiculata L.

Salsola zygophylla Batt. & Trab.

Salsola zygophylloides (Aellen & Townsend)

Akhani

Syn.: Fadenia zygophylloides Aellen & Townsend

Sarcocornia fruticosa (L.) A.J. Scott

Syn.: Arthrocnemum fruticosum (L.) Moq.;

Salicornia europaea L. var. fruticosa ;

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

122

Salicornia fruticosa (L.) L.; Salicornia patula

Duval-Jouve

Sarcocornia perennis (Mill.) A.J. Scott

Syn.: Arthrocnemum perenne (Mill.) Moss ex

Fourcade; Salicornia perennis Mill.;

Salicornia radicans Sm.

Sarcocornia obclavata Yaprak

Seidlitzia ﬂ orida (M. Bieb.) Bunge

Syn.: Anabasis ﬂ orida M. Bieb.

Sevada schimperi Moq.

Syn.: Suaeda schimperi (Moq.) Martelli

Suaeda aegyptiaca (Hasselq.) Zohary

Syn.: Chenopodium aegyptiacum Hasselq.;

Schanginia aegyptiaca (Hasselq.) Aellen;

Suaeda maris-mortui Post; Schanginia bac-

cata (Forsskal ex Gmelin) Moq.; Suaeda

hortensis Forsskal ex Gmelin

Suaeda acuminata (C.A. Mey) Moq.

(incl. S. baccifera Pall., S. confusa Iljin &

S. pterantha (Kar. & Kir.) Bunge

Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall. ex J.F. Gmel.

Syn.: Chenopodium altissimum L.

Suaeda arcuata Bunge

Suaeda carnosissima Post

Suaeda corniculata (C.A. Mey.) Bunge var.

olufsenii (Paulsen) G.L. Chu

Syn.: Suaeda olufensii Paulsen

Suaeda cucullata Aellen

Suaeda dendroides (C.A. May.) Moq.

Suaeda eltonica Iljin

Suaeda fruticosa Forssk. ex J.F. Gmel.

Syn: Suaeda baluchestanica Akhani & Podlech

Suaeda gracilis Moq.

Suaeda heterophylla Bunge ex Boiss.

Suaeda linifolia Pall. Ex J.F. Gmel.

Suaeda maritima (L.) Dumort

Syn.: Chenopodium maritimum L.; Suaeda

prostrata Pall; Suaeda indica Willd.; Kochia

indica Wight

Suaeda microphylla Pall.

Suaeda monoica Forssk. ex J.F. Gmel.

Suaeda moschata A.J. Scott

Suaeda physophora Pall.

Suaeda prostrata Pall. subsp. anatolica Aellen

Suaeda splendens (Pourr.) Gren. & Godr.

Syn.: Chenopodium setigerum DC.; Salsola

splendens Pourr.; Suaeda setigera (DC.)

Moq.

Suaeda vermiculata Forssk. ex J. F. Gmel.

Syn.: Suaeda pruinosa Willk. & Lange

Suaeda vermiculata Forssk. ex J. F. Gmel. var.

puberula C.B. Clarke

Traganum nudatum Delile

Xylosalsola arbuscula (Pall.) Tzvelev.

Syn.: Salsola arbuscula Pall.

CISTACEAE

Helianthemum ledifolium (L.) Miller var.

mucrocarpum Willk.

COMBRETACEAE

Conocarpus lancifolius Engl. & Diels

CONVOLVULACEAE

Cressa cretica L.

Evolvulus alsinoides (L.) L.

Ipomoea alba L.

Ipomoea ﬁ stulosa Mart. ex Choisy

Ipomoea pes-caprae Roth

CYMODOCEACEAE

Halodule uninervis (Forssk.) Boiss.

Halodule wrightii Asch.

Syringodium isoetifolium (Asch.) Dandy

Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forssk.) Hartog

CYNOMORIACEAE

Cynomorium coccineum L.

CYPERACEAE

Blysmus rufus (Huds.) Link.

Bolboschoenus glaucus (Lam.) S.G. Sm.

Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla var.

maritimus

Syn.: Scirpus maritimus L.

Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla var. afﬁ nis

(Roth) T. Koyama

Carex capitellata Boiss. & Bal.

Carex diluta M. Bieb.

Carex distans L.

Carex divisa Huds.

Carex extensa Good.

Carex heterostachya Bunge

Carex medwedewii Leskov

Syn.: Carex atrata Boiss.; Carex kukkonenii

O. Nilsson

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

123

Carex stenophylla Wahlenb. subsp. stenophyl-

loides (V.I. Krecz.) T.V. Egorova

Carex vesicaria L.

Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl

Syn.: Schoenus mariscus L.; Mariscus cladium

Kuntze;

Cyperus noeanus Boiss.

Cyperus alopecuroides Rottb.

Cyperus arenarius Retz.

Cyperus atkinsonii C.B. Clarke

Cyperus aucheri Jaub. & Spach

Cyperus bulbosus Vahl

Cyperus capitatus Vandelli

Syn.: Cyperus schoenoides Griseb.; Galilaea

mucronata (L.) Parl.

Cyperus conglomeratus Rottb. subsp.

conglomeratus

Cyperus conglomeratus Rottb. subsp. curvulus

(Boeckeler) Kukkonen

Cyperus conglomeratus Rottb. subsp. pachyr-

rhizus (Nees) T. Koyama

Cyperus laevigatus L.

Cyperus longus L.

Syn.: Cyperus longus subsp. badius (Desf.)

Murb; Pycreus longus (L.) Hayek

Cyperus malaccensis Lam.

Cyperus niveus Retz.

Cyperus pangorei Rottb.

Cyperus rotundus L.

Cyperus stoloniferus Retz.

Eleocharis mitracarpa Steudel

Syn.: Eleocharis argyrolepidoides Zinserl.

Eleocharis palustris (L.) Roemer & Schultes

Syn.: Eleocharis crassa Fisch. & Mey. ex A.

Becker; Eleocharis crassa Fisch. & Mey. ex

A. Becker var. glaucescens Zinserl.;

Eleocharis gracilis Hayek non R. Br.(1810);

Eleocharis intersita Zinserl.; Eleocharis

palustris (L.) Roemer & Schultes subsp.

microcarpa Walters; Eleocharis palustris (L.)

Roemer & Schultes var. communis Schmalh.

f. eupalustris (Lindb. ﬁ l.) Krylov; Eleocharis

palustris (L.) Roemer & Schultes var. eupalus-

tris (Lindb. ﬁ l.) Syreish.; Eleocharis palustris

(L.) Roemer & Schultes var. gracilis

Suesseng . ; Heleocharis eupaluster Lindb.f.;

Scirpus palustris L .

Eleocharis quinqueﬂ ora (Hartmann) O. Schwarz

Eleocharis uniglumis (Link.) Schult.

Fimbristylis complanata (Retz.) Link

Fimbristylis cymosa R.Br.

Cyperus pannonicus Jacq .

Syn.: Acorellus pannonicus (Jacq.) Palla;

Juncellus pannonicus (Jacq.) C.B. Clarke

Schoenoplectus lacustris (Schrad.) Palla subsp.

hippolyti (V.I. Krecz.) Kukkonen

Syn.: Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (C.C.

Gmel.) Palla; Scirpus glaucus Sm. Non Lam.

(179I); Scirpus lacustris L. subsp. glaucus

(Sm.) Hartman; Scirpus lacustris L. subsp.

tabernamontanae (C.C. Gmelin) Syme;

Scirpus lacustris L. var. digynus Godron;

Scirpus lacustris L. var. tabernaemontani

(C.C. Gmelin) Doll

Schoenoplectus litoralis (Schrad.) Palla

Syn.: Heleogiton litorale (Schrad.) Rchb.;

Scirpus aegyptiacus Decne.; Scirpus litoralis

Schrad.

Schoenoplectus triqueter (L.) Palla

Schoenus nigricans L.

Syn.: Chaetospora nigricans (L.) Kunth

Scirpoides holoschoenus (L.) Sojak

Syn.: Holoschoenus australis (Murray) Reichb.;

Holoschoenus romanus (L.) Fritsch;

Holoschoenus vulgaris Link; Holoschoenus

vulgaris Link subsp. australis (Murray)

Hayek; Holoschoenus vulgaris Link subsp.

eu-vulgaris Hayek; Isolepis holoschoenus (L.)

Roemer & Schultes; Scirpus australis Murray;

Scirpus holoschoenus L.; Scirpus holoschoe-

nus L. var. australis (Murray) W.D.J. Koch;

Scirpus holoschoenus L. var. genuinus Boiss.;

Scirpus holoschoenus L. var. romanus (L.)

W.D.J. Koch; Scirpus romanus L.; Scirpus

tabernaemontani C.C. Gmelin; Scirpus uligi-

nosus Kar. & Kir.

ELATINACEAE

Bergia aestivosa (Wight) Steud.

Bergia ammannioides Roxb. ex Roth.

EUPHORBIACEAE

Andrachne telephioides L.

Euphorbia boissieriana (Woronow) Prokh.

Euphorbia falcata L. subsp. falcata var.

falcata

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

124

Syn.: Euphorbia falcata L. var. falciformis Griseb.;

Euphorbia falcata L. var. rubra (Cav.) Boiss.

Euphorbia granulata Forssk.

Euphorbia hirsuta L.

Syn.: Euphorbia pubescens Vahl

Euphorbia indica Lam.

Euphorbia macroclada Boiss.

Syn.: Euphorbia macroclada Boiss. var. aceras

Hand.-Mazz.; Euphorbia schizoceras Boiss.

& Hohen.; Euphorbia syspirensis C. Koch;

Euphorbia tinctoria Boiss. & Huet ex Boiss.

Euphorbia paralias L.

Euphorbia repens K. Koch

Euphorbia thymifolia L.

Euphorbia verrucosa L.

FRANKENIACEAE

Frankenia hirsuta L.

Syn.: Frankenia hispida DC.; Frankenia interme-

dia DC.; Frankenia revoluta Forssk.

Frankenia pulverulenta L .

Frankenia salsuginea Adilguzel & Aytac

Hypericopsis persica Boiss.

GENTIANACEAE

Blackstonia perfoliata (L.) Hudson subsp.

serotina (W. Koch ex Reichb.) Vollmann

Syn.: Chlora acuminata W. Koch & Ziz.; Chlora

serotina W. Koch ex Reichb.

Blackstonia perfoliata (L.) Hudson subsp.

perfoliata

Syn.: Chlora perfoliata (L.)L.; Gentiana per-

foliata L.

Centaurium erythraea Rafn subsp. erythraea

Syn.: Erythraea centaurium Boiss.

Centaurium pulchellum (Swartz) Druce

Syn.: Erythraea anatolica C. Koch; Erythraea

caspica Fischer; Erythraea pulchella (Swartz)

Fries; Erythraea ramosissima (Viii.) Pers.;

Gentiana pulchella Swartz

Centaurium spicatum (L.) Fritsch

Centaurium tenuiﬂ orum (Hotfmanns. & Link)

Fritsch subsp. tenuiﬂ orum

Enicostema axillare (Poir. ex Lam.) A. Raynal

GOODENIACEAE

Scaevola plumieri (L.) Vahl.

Scaevola taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb.

GUTTIFERAE

Hypericum salsugineum Rabson & Hub.-Mor.

HYDROCHARITACEAE

Halophila ovalis (R.Br.) Hook f.

Halophila stipulacea (Forssk.) Asch.

Thalassia hemprechii (Ehrenb. ex Solms.) Asch.

IRIDACEAE

Gladiolus halophilus Boiss. & Heldr.

Gladiolus italicus Mill.

Iris orientalis Miller

Syn.: Iris longipedicellata Czecz.

Iris paradoxa Steven

Iris spuria L. subsp. musulmanica (Fomin)

Takht.

JUNCACEAE

Juncus acutus L.

Juncus articulatus L.

Juncus bufonius L.

Juncus fontanesii J. Gay apud Laharpe subsp.

pyramidatus (Laharpe) Snog.

Syn.: Juncus camptotropus V. Krecz.; Juncus

pyramidatus Laharpe

Juncus persicus Boiss. subsp. libanoticus

(Thieb.) Snog.

Syn.: Juncus gerardii Loisel. subsp. libanoticus

(Thieb.) Snog.

Juncus gerardii Loisel.

Syn.: Juncus libanoticus Thieb.

Juncus heldreichianus Marsson ex Parl. subsp.

heldreichianus

Juncus heldreichianus Marsson ex Parl. subsp.

orientalis Snog.

Juncus littoralis C.A. Meyer

Syn.: Juncus acutus L. subsp. tyraicus Paczoski;

Juncus tommasinii Parl.; Juncus tyraicus

(Paczoski) V. Krecz. & Gontsch.

Juncus maritimus Lam.

Juncus punctorius L.f.

Juncus rigidus Desf.

Juncus subnodulosus Schrank

Syn.: Juncus nodosus Weber non L.(1762);

Juncus obtusiﬂ orus Ehrh. ex Hoffm.; Juncus

sylvaticus Reichard non Hudson(1762)

Juncus subulatus Forssk.

Syn.: Juncus multiﬂ orus Desf.

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

125

JUNCAGINACEAE

Triglochin bulbosa L. subsp. barrelieri (Loisel.)

Rouy

Syn.: Triglochin barrelieri Loisel.

Triglochin maritima L.

Syn.: Triglochin ani C. Koch

Triglochin palustris L.

LAMIACEAE

Mentha aquatica L.

Syn.: Mentha hirsuta Hudson; Mentha stricta L.

var. stricta C. Koch in

Phlomis armeniaca Willd.

Syn.: Phlomis linearis Boiss. & Bal. subsp. anti-

cragi P.H. Davis; Phlomis nympharum O.

Schwarz

Salvia syriaca L.

Salvia halophila Hedge

Salvia staminea Montbret & Aucher ex

Bentham

Syn.: Salvia armeniaca (Bordz.) Grossh.; Salvia

staminea Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham

subsp. armeniaca Bordz.; Salvia staminea

Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham var. latifolia

Bornm.; Salvia staminea Montbret & Aucher

ex Bentham var. persica Bornm.; Salvia trans-

caucasica Pobed.

Scutellaria orientalis L. subsp. orientalis

Syn.: Scutellaria caucasica A. Ham.; Scutellaria

taurica Juz.

Teucrium polium L.

Teucrium scordium L. subsp. scordioides

(Schreber) Maire & Petitmengin

Syn.: Teucrium lanuginosum Hoffmanns. &

Link; Teucrium petkovii Urumov; Teucrium

scordioides Schreber

LEGUMINOSAE: CAESALPINIOIDEA

Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb.

Senna italica Mill.

LEGUMINOSAE: MIMOSIOIDEAE

Acacia leucophloea (Roxb.) Willd.

Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile subsp. nilotica

Acacia sphaerocephala Schltdl. & Cham.

Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne

Syn.: Acacia raddiana Savi

Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce

Prosopis farcta (Banks & Sol.) J.F. Macbr.

Prosopis juliﬂ ora (Sw.) DC.

Prosopis koelziana Burk.

LEGUMINOSAE: PAPILIONOIDEAE

Aeschynomene indica L.

Alhagi graecorum Boiss.

Syn.: Alhagi maurorum Medik.

Alhagi pseudalhagi (M. Bieb.) Desv.

Astragalus ovalis Boiss. & Ball.

Astragalus shelkovnikovii Grossh.

Astragalus tribuloides Delile

Syn.: Astragalus kirghisicus Schtschegleev;

Oxyglottis tribuloides (Delile) Nevski

Astragalus vogelii (Webb) Bornm.

Crotalaria persica (Burm. f.) Merr.

Crotalaria saltiana T. Anders

Dalbergia sissoo DC.

Dorycnium strictum (Fisch. & Mey.) Lassen

Syn.: Lotus albus Janka; Lotus strictus Fisch. &

Mey.; Lotus strictus Fisch. & Mey. var. rotun-

difolius Boiss.; Lotus thermalis Boiss.

Erythrina herbacea L.

Indigofera argentea Burm. f.

Indigofera cordifolia Roth

Indigofera intricata Boiss.

Indigofera linifolia (L.f.) Retz.

Indigofera oblongifolia Forsk.

Lespedeza juncea (Linn.f.) Pers. var. sericea

(Thunb.) Lace & Hauech

Lotus corniculatus L. var. tenuifolius L.

Lotus garcinii DC.

Syn.: Lotus stocksii Boiss.

Lotus halophilus Boiss. & Spruner

Syn.: Lotus villosus Forssk.

Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb.

Medicago lupulina L.

Medicago minima (L.) Bart. var. minima

Medicago falcata L.

Melilotus indicus (L.) All.

Syn.: Melilotus indica (L.)

Melilotus messanensis (L.) All.

Syn.: Trifolium messanense L.

Melilotus ofﬁ cinalis (L.) Desr.

Syn.: Trifolium ofﬁ cinalis L.

Pongamia pinnata (L.) Merrill

Prosopis farcta (Banks & Sol.)

Sesbania grandiﬂ ora (L.) Pers.

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

126

Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.

Sophora alopecuroides L. var. alopecuroides

Syn.: Goebelia alopecuroides (L.) Bunge

Sphaerophysa kotschyana Boiss.

Taverniera cuneifolia (Roth) Arn.

Taverniera spartea (Burm. f.) DC.

Tephrosia apollinea (Delile) DC.

Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers.

Lotus maritimus L.

Syn.: Lotus siliquosus L.;

Trifolium fragiferum L.

Trifolium repens L

Trifolium resupinatum L.

Trifolium tomentosum L.

Medicago orthoceras (Kar. & Kir.) Trautv.

Syn.: Trigonella orthoceras Kar. & Kir.;

Trigonella orthoceras Kar. & Kir. var. anatol-

ica (Boiss. & Bal.) Boiss.; Trigonella poly-

cerata M. Bieb. non L.

Vicia sativa L.

Vigna trilobata (L.) Verdc.

LILIACEAE

Allium cupani Raﬁ n. subsp. hirtovaginatum

(Kunth) Stearn

Syn.: Allium hirtovaginatum Kunth; Allium

moschatum d'Urv. non L.(1753)

Allium macrochaetum Boiss. & Hausskn.

subsp. macrochaetum

Syn.: Allium laeve Wendelbo & von Bothmer

Allium nevsehirense Koyuncu & Kollmann

Allium sieheanum (Hausskn. ex) Kollmann

Allium scabriﬂ orum Boiss.

Syn.: Allium vuralii Kit Tan

Asparagus gharoensis Blatt.

Asparagus lycaonicus P. H. Davis

Asparagus persicus Baker

Syn.: Asparagus leptophyllus Schischkin;

Asparagus oligophyllus Baker

Dipcadi biﬂ orum Ghaz.

Drimia indica (Roxb.) Jessop

LINACEAE

Linum bienne Miller

Syn.: Linum angustifolium Hud.

Linum seljukorum Davis

LYTHRACEAE

Lythrum salicaria L.

Syn.: Lythrum cinereum Gris.; Lythrum tomento-

sum DC.

MALVACEAE

Alcea calvertii (Boiss.) Boiss.

Syn.: Althaea calvertii Boiss.

Gossypium stocksii Mast.

Thespesia populneoides (Roxb.) Kostel.

MOLLUGINACEAE

Glinus lotoides L.

MORACEAE

Ficus microcarpa L.f.

MYRSINACEAE

Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco

Ardisia solanacea (Poir.) Roxb.

NAJADACEAE

Najas graminea Delile

Najas marina L.

Najas minor All.

NYCTAGINACEAE

Pisonia grandis R.Br.

ORCHIDACEAE

Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz

Orchis palustris Jacq.

Syn.: Orchis elegans Heuffel; Orchis laxiﬂ ora

Lam. subsp. dielsianus Soo; Orchis laxiﬂ ora

Lam. subsp. paluster (Jacq.) Aschers. &

Graebn; Orchis laxiﬂ ora Lam. subsp. palus-

tris (Jacq.) Bonnier & Layens; Orchis pseu-

dolaxiﬂ ora Czernjak.

OROBANCHACEAE

Cistanche salsa (C. A. Mey.) Beck

Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) Wight

The generic name Phelypaea is unresolved.

PANDANACEAE

Pandanus odorifer (Forssk.) Kuntze

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

127

PEDALIACEAE

Pedalium murex L.

PLANTAGINACEAE

Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. (formerly in

Scrophulariaceae)

Plantago coronopus L. subsp. coronopus

Plantago coronopus L. subsp. commutata

(Guss.) Pilger

Syn.: Plantago commutata Guss.;

Plantago lanceolata L.

Plantago major L. subsp. intermedia (Gilib.)

Lange

Syn.: Plantago intermedia Glib.; Plantago major

L. subsp. pleiosperma Pilger

Plantago maritima L.

Plantago scabra Moench

Syn.: Plantago arenaria Waldst. & Kit.; Plantago

indica L.; Plantago psyllium L. non L.(1759)

nee L.(1762) nom. ambig; Plantago ramosa

Ascherson

PLUMBAGINACEAE

Acantholimon halophilum Bokhari

Limonium axillare (Forssk.) Kuntze

Syn.: Statice axillaris Forssk.

Limonium carnosum (Boiss.) O. Kuntze

Limonium cylindrifolium Verdc.

Limonium gmelinii (Willd.) Kuntze

Syn.: Limonium hirsuticalyx Pignatti; Limonium

pycnanthum (C. Koch) Kuntze; Statice gmelini

Willd.; Statice

pychnantha C. Koch

Limonium graceum (Poiret) Rech.f.

Syn.: Statice graeca Poiret; Statice prolifera

d'Urv.; Statice rorida Sibth. & Sm.

Limonium iconicum Kuntze

Limonium milleri Ghaz. & J.R. Edm.

Limonium sarcophyllum Ghaz. & J.R. Edm.

Limonium sinuatum (L.) Miller

Syn.: Statice sinuata L.

Limonium stocksii Kuntze

Limonium suffruticosum (L.) Kuntze

Limonium perfoliatum (Kar. ex Boiss.)

Kuntze

Psylliostachys spicata (Willd.) Nevski

POACEAE

Aeluropus lagopoides (L.) Thwaites

Syn.: Aeluropus littoralis (Gouan) Parl. var.

repens (Desf.) Casson & Dur.; Aeluropus

massauensis (Fresen.) Mattei;

Aeluropus littoralis (Gouan) Parl.

Syn.: Aeluropus intermedius Regel; Aeluropus

laevis Trin. var. dasyphyllum Trautv.;

Aeluropus littoralis (Gouan) Parl. subsp.

intermedius (Regel) Tzvelev; Aeluropus litto-

ralis (Gouan) Parl. subsp. kuschkensis

Tzvelev; Aeluropus littoralis (Gouan) Parl.

subsp. pungens (M. Bieb.) Tzvelev; Aeluropus

pungens (M. Bieb.) C. Koch; Calotheca litto-

ralis (Gouan) Sprengel; Dactylis littoralis

(Gouan) Willd.; Poa littoralis Gouan

Aeluropus macrostachyus Hack.

Agrostis stolonifera L.

Aira elegantissima Schur var. elegantissima

Syn.: Aira capillaris Host; Fussia capillaris

(Host) Schur var. elegantissima (Schur) Schur

Alopecurus myosuroides Hudson var.

myosuroides

Syn.: Aira agrestis L.

Alopecurus myosuroides Hudson var. latialatus

M. Dogan

Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link subsp. arundi-

naea H. Lindb.ﬁ l.

Syn.: Arundo arenaria L.; Psamma arenaria (L.)

Roemer & Schultes

Apera intermedia Hackel

Syn.: Apera spica-venti (L.) P. Beauv. subsp.

intermedia (Hackel) Hackel ex Bornm.

Aristida abnormis Chiov.

Aristida adscensionis L.

Aristida mutabilis Trin. & Rupr.

Arundo donax L.

Bromus arvensis L.

Bromus inermis Leyss.

Syn.: Zerna inermis (Leyss.) Lindm.

Bromus rubens L.

Bromus tectorum L.

Calamagrostis pseudophragmites (Haller ﬁ l.)

Koeler

Syn.: Arundo glauca M. Bieb.; Arundo pseudo-

phragmites Haller ﬁ l.; Calamagrostis littorea

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

128

(Schrader) P. Beauv. var . persica (Boiss.)

Boiss.; Calamagrostis persica Boiss.

Catabrosa aquatica (L.) P. Beauv.

Cenchrus biﬂ orus Roxb.

Cenchrus ciliaris L.

Cenchrus pennisetiformis Steud.

Chloris gayana Kunth

Chloris quinquesetica Bhide

Chloris virgata Sw.

Coelachyrum piercei (Benth.) Bor

Crypsis aculeata (L.) Aiton

Crypsis faktorovskyi Eig

Syn.: Heleochloa faktorovskyi (Eig) Pilger

Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon

Syn.: Panicum dactylon L.

Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. villosus Regel

Syn.: Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. villosum

Roshev. ex Grossh.

Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd.

Dactyloctenium aristatum Link

Dactyloctenium scindicum Boiss.

Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf

Dichanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf

Digitaria longiﬂ ora (Retz.) Pers.

Echinochloa colona (L.) Link

Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.

Elymus elongatus (Host) Runemark

Syn.: Triticum obtusiﬂ orum DC.; Triticum ponti-

cum Podp.

Elymus farctus Viv.Runemark ex Melderis

Syn.: Agropyron junceum (L.) P. Beauv.; Elytrigia

juncea (L.) Nevski subsp. juncea ; Triticum

farctum Viv.; Triticum junceum L.

Elymus hispidus (Opiz) Melderis subsp.

hispidus

Syn.: Agropyron glaucum (Desf. ex DC.) Roemer

& Schultes; Agropyron hispidum Opiz;

Agropyron laevifolium Opiz; Agropyron latro-

num (Godron) Cand.; Agropyron validum

Opiz; Elytrigia intermedia (Host) Nevski;

Triticum glaucum Desf.; Triticum interme-

dium Host; Triticum latronum Godron;

Triticum truncatum Wallr.

Eragrostis collina Trin.

Syn.: Eragrostis arundinacea (L.) Roshev.;

Eragrostis tatarica (Fischer ex Griseb.)

Nevski; Poa tatarica Fischer ex Bess.

Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees

Eragrostis japonica (Thunb.) Trin.

Eragrostis superba Peyr.

Syn.: Aira aquatica L.

Festuca arundinacea Schreber subsp.

arundinacea

Syn.: Festuca elatior L. subsp. arundinacea

(Schreber) Hackel

Festuca rubra L.

Halopyrum mucronatum (L.) Stapf

Holcus lanatus L.

Hordeum bogdanii Wilensky

Hordeum brevisubulatum (Trin.) Link

Hordeum marinum Huds.

Imperata cylindrica (L.) Raeusch.

Lagurus ovatus L.

Lasiurus scindicus Henrard

Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth

Leymus cappadocicus (Boiss. et Bal.) Melderis

Syn.: Elymus cappadocicus Boiss. & Bal.

Leymus secalinus (Georgi) Tzvelev

Lolium rigidum Gaudin

Syn.: Lolium subulatum Vis.

Lolium multiﬂ orum Lam.

Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench

Syn.: Aira caerulea L.

Ochthochloa compressa (Forssk.) Hilu

Panicum antidotale Retz.

Panicum turgidum Forssk.

Parapholis ﬁ liformis (Roth) C.E. Hubbard

Syn.: Lepturus ﬁ liformis (Roth) Trin.; Ophiurus

ﬁ liformis (Roth) Roemer & Schultes;

Pholiurus ﬁ liformis (Roth) Schinz & Thell.;

Rottboellia erecta Savi; Rottboellia ﬁ liformis

Roth; Rottboellia incurvata (L.) L. ﬁ l.

Parapholis incurva (L.) C.E. Hubbard

Syn.: Aegilops incurva L.; Aegilops incurvata L.;

Lepturus incurvatus (L.) Trin.; Lepturus

incurvatus (L.) Trin. subsp. curvatissimus

(Aschers. & Graebn.) Rouy; Pholiurus incur-

vatus (L.) Hitchc.

Paspalidium desertorum (A. Rich.) Staph

Paspalum distichum L.

Paspalum vaginatum Sw.

Phalaris arundinacea L.

Syn.: Digraphis arundinaceae (L.) Trin.;

Phalaroides arundinaceae (L.) Rauschaert;

Typhoides arundinaceae (L.) Moench

Phalaris canariensis L.

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

129

Phalaris minor Retz.

Phleum exaratum Hochst. ex Griseb. subsp.

exaratum

Syn.: Phleum arenarium L. var. breviglume

Bornm.; Phleum cornutum Mez; Phleum

graecum Boiss. & Heldr. ex Boiss.

Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.

Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin. ex Steud.

Poa annua L.

Poa bulbosa L.

Poa pratensis L.

Poa trivialis L.

Polypogon maritimus Willd. subsp. maritimus

Syn.: Polypogon monspeliensis (L.) Desf. var.

maritimus (Willd.) Casson & Durieu

Polypogon monspeliensis (L.) Desf.

Syn.: Alopecurus monspeliensis L.

Porteresia coarctata (Roxb.) Tateoka

Puccinellia bulbosa (Grossh.) Grossh. subsp.

caesarea Kit Tan

Puccinellia bulbosa (Grossh.) Grossh. subsp.

bulbosa (Grossh.) Grossh.

Syn.: Atropis bulbosa Grossh.; Puccinellia

gigantea (Grossh.) Tzvelev subsp. bulbosa

Puccinellia convoluta (Hornem.) Fourr.

Syn.: Atropis convoluta (Hornem.) Griseb.;

Festuca convoluta (Hornem.) Kunth; Glyceria

convoluta (Hornem.) Fries; Glyceria distans

(L.) Wahlenb. var. convulata (Hornem.) Regel

non Boiss. ex Hooker ﬁ l.(1896); Poa con-

voluta Hornem. non Hartm. ex Reichb.(1830);

Puccinellia anisoclada V. Krecz.; Puccinellia

festuciformis (Host) Parl. subsp. convoluta

(Hornem.) W.E. Hughes; Puccunellia con-

voluta (Hornem.) Hayek

Puccinellia distans (Jacq.) Parl. subsp. distans

(Jacq.) Parl.

Syn.: Atropis distans (Jacq.) Griseb.; Glyceria

distans (Jacq.) Wahlenb.; Poa distans Jacq.;

Puccinellia pseudoconvoluta Klokov

Puccinellia festuciformis (Host) Parl.

Syn.: Atropis festucaeformis (Host) K. Richter;

Festuca hostii Kunth non Schott. ex Roemer

& Schultes(1817); Festuca palustris Seenus;

Glyceria convulata (Hornem.) Fries subsp.

festucaeformis (Host) Douin; Glyceria festu-

caeformis (Host) Heynh. ex Reichb.; Poa fes-

tuciformis Host; Puccinellia palustris

(Seenus) Podp. non(Seenus) Grossh.(1928);

Puccinellia palustris (Seenus) Podp. subsp.

festucaeformis (Host) Maire

Puccinellia gigantea (Grossh.) Grossh.

Syn.: Puccinellia anisoclada (V.I. Krecz.) V.I.

Krecz. subsp. melderisiana Kit Tan

Puccinellia intermedia (Schur) Janch.

Syn.: Atropis festucaeformis (Schur) Hack. var.

intermedia (Schur) Hackel; Atropis interme-

dia Schur; Puccinellia festuciformis (Host)

Parl. subsp. intermedia (Schur) W.E. Hughes

Puccinellia koeieana Melderis subsp. anatolica

Kit Tan

Rostraria cristata (L.) Tzvelev var. cristata

Syn.: Festuca cristata L.

Sacchraum bengalense Retz.

Sacchraum spontaneum L.

Setaria viridis (L.) P. Beauv.

Sphenopus divaricatus (Gouan) Rchb.

Sporobolus coromandelianus (Retz.) Kunth

Sporobolus helvolus (Trin.) Durand & Schinz

Sporobolus ioclados (Nees ex Trin.) Nees

Syn.: Sporobolus arabicus Boiss.; Sporobolus

jemenicus Pilg. ex Schwartz; Sporobolus ken-

trophyllus (K. Schum.) Clayton; Sporobolus

marginatus Hochst. ex A. Rich.

Sporobolus robustus Kunth.

Sporobolus tourneuxii Coss.

Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth

Syn.: Agrostis arenaria Gouan; Agrostis conge-

ner Schumach.; Agrostis virginica Forssk.;

Sporobolus arenarius (Gouan) Duval-Jouve;

Sporobolus confertus J. A. Schmidt;

Sporobolus pungens (Shreb.) Kunth

Sporobolus spicatus (Vahl) Kunth

Stipa himalaica Roshev.

Stipa splendens Trin.

Urochondra setulosa (Trin.) C.E. Hubb.

POLYGONACEAE

Atraphaxis spinosa L.

Persicaria vivipara (L.) Ronse Decr.

Polygonum arenastrum Bor.

Syn.: Polygonum aequale Lindm.; Polygonum

aviculare subsp. aequale (Lindm.) Asch. &

Graebn.

Polygonum aviculare L.

Syn.: Polygonum heterophyllum Lindman

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

130

Polygonum bellardii All.

Polygonum effusum Meisn.

Polygonum maritimum L.

Polygonum plebeium R.Br.

Polygonum sibiricum Laxm. var. thomsonii

Meisn.

Rumex vesicarius L.

PORTULACACEAE

Portulaca oleracea L.

Portulaca quadriﬁ da L.

PRIMULACEAE

Anagallis arvensis L. var. arvensis

Glaux maritima L.

Lysimachia maritima (L.) Galasso, Banﬁ &

Soldano

Primula algida Weber & Mohr

Syn.: Primula hookeri Freyn & Sint.

Samolus valerandi L.

RANUNCULACEAE

Consolida anthoroidea (Boiss.) Schrod.

Nigella turcica Dönmez & Mutlu

Pseudodelphinium turcicum H. Duman, Vural,

Aytaç & Adıgüzel

Ranunculus marginatus d'Urv. var. marginatus

Thalictrum lucidum L.

Thalictrum simplex L.

RESEDACEAE

Oligomeris linifolia (Vahl) J.F. Macbr.

RHAMNACEAE

Zizyphus nummularia (Burm. f.) Wight & Arn.

RHIZOPHORACEAE

Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (L.) Lam.

Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C.B. Rob.

Rhizophora mucronata Lam.

ROSACEAE

Potentilla anserina L.

Potentilla bifurca L. subsp. orientalis (Juz.)

Sojak

Potentilla reptans Laicharding

Syn.: Potentilla nemoralis Nestler; Potentilla

procumbens Sibth.

Potentilla supina L.

RUBIACEAE

Cruciata taurica (Pallas ex Willd.) Ehrend.

Syn.: Valantia taurica Pallas ex Willd.

Galium verum L.

RUPPIACEAE

Ruppia maritima L.

SALICACEAE

Populus euphratica Olivier

SANTALACEAE

Thesium compressum Boiss. & Heldr.

SCROPHULARIACEAE

Scrophularia bicolor Sibht. & Sm.

Verbascum helianthemoides Hub.-Mor.

Verbascum pyroliforme Kuntze

Verbascum sinuatum L.

SOLANACEAE

Lycium depressum Stocks

Lycium ruthenicum Murray

Lycium shawii Roem. & Schult.

Solanum incanum L.

Solanum virginianum L.

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

SONNERATIACEAE

Sonneratia caseolaris (L.) Engl.

STERCULACEAE

Melhania denhamii R.Br.

TAMARICACEAE

Reaumuria alternifolia Britten

Syn.: Hypericum alternifolium Labill.; Reumuria

cistoides Adam; Reumuria hypericoides

Willd.

Reaumuria fruticosa Boiss.

Tamarix androssowii Litv. subsp. androssowii

Tamarix aphylla (L.) H. Karst.

Tamarix aralensis Bunge

Tamarix arceuthoides Bunge

Tamarix gallica L. var. indica (Willd.) Ehrenb.

Tamarix hampeana Boiss. & Heldr.

Tamarix hispida Willd.

Tamarix kermanensis Baum.

Tamarix karelinii Bunge

S.A. Ghazanfar et al.

131

Tamarix kotschyi Bunge

Tamarix leptostachya Bunge

Tamarix parviﬂ ora DC.

Syn.: Tamarix cretica Bunge

Tamarix passerinoides Delile

Tamarix rosea Bunge

Tamarix smyrnensis Bunge

Syn.: Tamarix pallasii Desv. var. smyrnensis

(Bunge) Boiss.; Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.

Tamarix tetragyna (Boiss.) Boiss. var. meyeri

THYMELAEACEAE

Thymelaea hirsuta (L.) Endl.

Thymelaea passerina (L.) Casson & Germ.

TILIACEAE

Corchorus depressus (L.) Stocks

TYPHACEAE

Typha australis K. Schum. & Thonner

Typha domingensis Pers.

Typha latifolia L.

Typha laxmannii Lepechin

Syn.: Typha stenophylla Fisch. & Mey.

Typha minima Funck var. gracilis Ducomm.

Syn.: Typha gracilis Jordan non Raﬁ n.(1836);

Typha lugdunensis Chabert; Typha martini

Jordan

VALERIANACEAE

Centranthus longiflorus Stev. subsp.

longiﬂ orus

Valerianella vesicaria (L.) Moench

VERBENACEAE

Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn.

Phyla nodiﬂ ora (L.) Greene

Verbena ofﬁ cinalis L.

Globularia trichosantha Fisch. & Mey.

(Formerly in Globulariaceae)

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE

Fagonia bruguieri DC.

Fagonia indica Burm. f.

Fagonia ovalifolia Hadidi

Malacocarpus crithmifolius (Retz.) C.A. Mey.

Nitraria retusa (Forssk.) Asch.

Nitraria schoberi L.

Syn.: Nitraria olivieri Jaub. & Spach

Seetzenia lanata (Willd.) Bullock

Tetradiclis tenella (Ehrenb.) Litv.

Syn.: Anatropa tenella Ehrenb.; Tetradiclis

caspia Lindl. in Chesney; Tetradiclis salsa

C.A. Mey.

Tetraena alba (L.f.) Beier & Thulin

Syn.: Zygophyllum album L.f.

Tetraena simplex (L.) Beier & Thulin

Syn . Zygophyllum simplex L

Tetraena coccinea (L.) Beier & Thulin

Syn.: Zygophyllum coccineum L.

Tetraena qatarensis (Hadidi) Beier & Thulin

Syn.: Zygophyllum qatarense Hadidi

Tribulus arabicus Hosni

Syn.: Tribulus omanensis Hosni

Tribulus terrestris L .

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Halophytes of Southwest Asia

Fluorescence parameters of chlorophyll a halophytes as a response to salinity of post mining subsidence reservoirs

Article

Nov 2022

Halophytic Plant Existence in Indian Salt Flats: Biodiversity, Biology, and Uses

Chapter

Aug 2020

Halophytes constitute a fascinating group of higher plants which exhibits unique morphological, anatomical, and physiological adaption in order to perpetuate and survive in highly saline conditions. India has significantly large extend of saline land under coastal and inland regions where both the natural and anthropogenic practices resulted in extensive salt flats. The coastal salt flats are distributed irregularly over the East and West coast. Salinity is due to abundance of NaCl and Na2SO4 salts and reaches up to 70 dS m−1 EC values during the summer. The dominant vegetation cover includes true halophytes (Sesuvium spp., Suaeda spp.), seagrasses (Ruppia spp.), and mangroves (Avicennia spp., Rhizophora spp.). Such halophytic life forms are imperative for the estuarine food web and typically used by the local inhabitant for food, fodder, fuel and fiber production. Inland salt flats are frequently found in the arid and semiarid areas of the Rajasthan and Gujarat. Low annual rainfall, existence of inherent salt sources, and high rate of evaporation collectively promote salinity and can reach up to 4–50 dS m−1 EC values during the summer. There is a distinct pattern of halophytic vegetation including grasses, shrubs, and trees that are native to tropical regions of the South Asia. The dominant halophytic families are Chenopodiaceae with Salicornia brachiata, Suaeda fruticosa, and Poaceae with Aeluropus lagopoides and Sporobolus coromandelianus species. This review containing biodiversity, biology, and economic utility of halophytes on Indian salt flats would be a first and valuable scientific document for active researchers in this field and helpful at improving and conserving these sustainable plants.

Halophytic Species in Natural Areas Close to Agricultural Areas of Araban (Gaziantep, Turkey)

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2020

As a result of the global warming caused by increasing industrialization, changes in vegetation have occurred on the earth. Halophyte species have been observed in many areas including native vegetation and agricultural land due to increased drought and warming and also over irrigation during formation of secondary vegetation. Soil samples were taken seasonally from selected three areas (Timurlenk, Karapinar and Fakili) in Araban (Gaziantep Turkey) and the pH, electrical conductivity (EC), lime (CaCO3), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) analyzes were performed in this samples. In addition, the presence of taxa known to be halophytes in these areas has been investigated. As a result of the analysis, it was found that there was no seasonal difference (p > 0.05), but there were significant differences between lime (CaCO3), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) among the localities (p < 0.05). Alhagi pseudoalhagi M. Bieb. was found in Timurlenk and Karapinar, Salsola kali spp. ruthenica Iljin was found in Timurlenk and Juncus inflexus L. was found in Timurlenk, Karapinar, Fakili. Although the soil is not salty, the presence of three different taxa that can tolerate the salt in three localities shows that the amount of salt in the soil may increase in time. The information presented in this study contributes to the salinization of soils and their effects on agriculture in the region.

Seed mass, dormancy and germinability variation among maternal plants of four Arabian halophytes

Article

Jan 2022

Coastal desert vegetation of the Arabian Peninsula is almost entirely dominated by halophytes. Natural populations provide a genetic resource for ecological remediation and may also have direct economic value. High intrapopulation variation of seed traits is presumed to increase population persistence in the unpredictable climatic conditions of this hyper-arid desert. We investigated whether intrapopulation variation of seed mass, dormancy and germinability of four species was attributable to maternal individuals. Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, Halothamnus iraquensis, Haloxylon salicornicum and Seidlitzia rosmarinus are commonly distributed Arabian halophytes with differing seed weight variation. All species exhibited a higher germination when exposed daily to 12 hours light, compared to seeds in darkness. A higher germination was correlated with a shorter germination time. For H. iraquensis and S. rosmarinus a shorter germination time was negatively correlated with germination synchrony. H. salicornicum showed the highest intrapopulation variation of seed traits, followed by A. macrostachyum, S. rosmarinus and H. iraqensis. We found that individuals within populations of all the studied species showed variability in germination but the extent of variation was species specific. The variation in seed mass and germination among the individuals of the studied species may facilitate a temporal distribution of germination, which may reduce the risk of seed bank exhaustion. The results of this study could assist conservation and management by improving the efficiency of seed collection from wild populations of these species.

Assessment of Coastal Salt marsh plants on the Arabian Gulf Region

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021

Hanan Almahasheer

Salt marshes form along coastlines and are very interesting ecosystems due to their function and services. In the future, salt marsh plants might provide food and medicine as crops irrigated via seawater in hyper-arid regions. In the Arabian Gulf, little is known about salt marsh vegetation. Therefore, a targeted search on scientific literature was performed to provide a comprehensive assessment. Hence, current knowledge of the extent and status of salt marsh in the Arabian Gulf region was reviewed, based on literature-based analysis. Then, historic trends of salt marsh publications were carefully inspected. This study provides a list of salt marsh families and their genera and species, with a total of 51 family 179 genera 316 species in the Arabian Gulf. The largest family was Chenopodiaceae followed by Poaceae, Asteraceae. Moreover, this study identified some of the gaps that could help future directions for scientific research, and help making decisions of conservation, management policies and procedures

Global distribution, climatic preferences and photosynthesis-related traits of C4 eudicots and how they differ from those of C4 grasses

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2023

C₄ is one of three known photosynthetic processes of carbon fixation in flowering plants. It evolved independently more than 61 times in multiple angiosperm lineages and consists of a series of anatomical and biochemical modifications to the ancestral C3 pathway increasing plant productivity under warm and light‐rich conditions. The C4 lineages of eudicots belong to seven orders and 15 families, are phylogenetically less constrained than those of monocots and entail an enormous structural and ecological diversity. Eudicot C4 lineages likely evolved the C4 syndrome along different evolutionary paths. Therefore, a better understanding of this diversity is key to understanding the evolution of this complex trait as a whole. By compiling 1207 recognised C4 eudicots species described in the literature and presenting trait data among these species, we identify global centres of species richness and of high phylogenetic diversity. Furthermore, we discuss climatic preferences in the context of plant functional traits. We identify two hotspots of C4 eudicot diversity: arid regions of Mexico/Southern United States and Australia, which show a similarly high number of different C4 eudicot genera but differ in the number of C4 lineages that evolved in situ. Further eudicot C4 hotspots with many different families and genera are in South Africa, West Africa, Patagonia, Central Asia and the Mediterranean. In general, C4 eudicots are diverse in deserts and xeric shrublands, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and shrublands. We found C4 eudicots to occur in areas with less annual precipitation than C4 grasses which can be explained by frequently associated adaptations to drought stress such as among others succulence and salt tolerance. The data indicate that C4 eudicot lineages utilising the NAD‐ME decarboxylating enzyme grow in drier areas than those using the NADP‐ME decarboxylating enzyme indicating biochemical restrictions of the later system in higher temperatures. We conclude that in most eudicot lineages, C4 evolved in ancestrally already drought‐adapted clades and enabled these to further spread in these habitats and colonise even drier areas.

Halophytic Plant Existence in Indian Salt Flats: Biodiversity, Biology, and Uses

Chapter

May 2021

References

Chapter

Jun 2022

Salah Attia-Ismail

Halophytic plants are a fascinating group of plants that also serve as dietary feed for livestock. Their utilization is essential for sustainable agriculture and maintaining ecological balance. This book explains the nature of halophytic plants through an in-depth presentation of their botanical and nutritional characteristics. Chapters of the book highlight different aspects of halophytes on a botanical, histological, ecological and nutritional basis when utilized as animal feed components. The issues of the histo-chemical aspects of halophytes are addressed with regard to their impact on nutrient compositions and availability to animals, while the important nutrient contents of halophytes are considered in relation to their value to animals. Key Features: - 10 organized chapters on halophytic plants - Explains the relationship between botanical and nutritional characteristics of halophytes when utilized as animal feed components - Covers information about important nutrient contents and secondary metabolites in halophytes - Includes information on nutritional and feeding values for animals - Includes informative diagram and tables - Includes references for further reading This book fills a notable gap in available literature on the subject, and will stimulate researchers to pursue the many unanswered questions in the field of biosaline agriculture. This text serves as reading material for undergraduate and graduate level courses and specializations in agriculture, animal nutrition, animal physiology, botany and plant physiology. It also serves as supplementary reading for students of taxonomy, ecology, and environmental science courses. Professional and apprentice livestock farmers will also benefit from the information presented by the book.

Halophytes.tn: an innovative database for Tunisian halophyte plant identification, distribution and characterization

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2022

Halophytes.tn (http://halophytes.rnrt.tn/) is a web-based database of Tunisian halophyte species. Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants able to grow above 85 mM of salt, even up to 2 M as for Tecticornia spp. Tunisia, a North African country located on the Mediterranean border, covering ∼165 000 km2, harbors several types of saline habitats and biotopes where halophytes preferably vegetate. With ∼6000 worldwide and over 420 Tunisian species, halophytes represent a huge potential in several fields, including desalination, phytoremediation, agrofarming, medicinal use, industrial applications, pharmacology and even nanotechnology. We describe the practical and technical steps followed and bioinformatics tools used to conceive and design the first Tunisian halophytes database, enabling species identification and characterization. As a first version, information about botany, morphology, ecophysiology and biochemistry were provided for the identified species with their sites of growing in Tunisia, first step of biodiversity conservation, management and valorization. The database will be regularly maintained, updated and enriched to achieve the goal of whole Tunisian halophyte species and fit the needs of scientists and all category of users.Database URL: http://halophytes.rnrt.tn/

Agricultural Production in Qatar’s Hot Arid Climate

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2021

Agriculture has played an essential role in the provision of food and has been a major factor in overall economic development for societies around the world for millennia. In the past, agriculture in hot, arid countries like Qatar faced many challenges, the primary one being a dearth of water for irrigation. Historically this severely limited Qatar’s economic development, which was based largely on resource exploitation, pearl fishing, and only more recently, on the exploitation of its oil and gas reserves which subsequently has led to Qatar’s great wealth. This paper gives an overview of the recent evolution of Qatar’s agricultural sector and investigates future trends that tackle the challenges of its hot arid climate and the limited availability of agricultural resources. Specifically, the review analyses Qatar’s potential to develop a national food security strategy based on a significant expansion of food production in the country. We review recent policy actions implemented to address challenges in the food supply chain caused by a 3.5-year blockade imposed by the adjacent Arab Gulf States, discussing the renewed interest in the potential that an enhanced agricultural sector must provide some aspects of food security and the implications for policymakers that would logically ensue.

Atriplex lehmanniana Bunge (Chenopodiaceae): A New record for The Flora of Turkey

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2018

The distribution of some prominent Chenopodiaceae in SW Asia and their phytogeographical significance

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1991

Helmut Freitag

Overview of an Inland Sabkha in Jordan: The Taba Sabkha, Southern Wadi Araba

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2002

ِAbdulkader M. Abed

Halophytic vegetation of Iran: Towards a syntaxonomical classification

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2004

Hossein Akhani

Iran with its diverse climatic conditions and geologic and land use history support large areas of saline habitats and diverse halophytic flora. The halophytic diversity in not only enriched by the evolving of a large number of autochthonous Irano-Turanian elements, but also many of the halophytes of other phytochoria like Saharo-Arabian, Mediterranean and even Euro-Siberian elements are represented in Iran. Therefore most of the higher syntaxa of Euro-Mediterranean and Afro-Asian-at least partly-occur in Iran. Prior to a consolidated syntaxonomical system for the halophytic vegetation of Iran, major halophytic vegetation units of Iran are summarized and shown along salinity and moisture gradients. These include: (1): Mangrove communities (Avicennio-Sonneratietea). (2): Submerged aquatic plant communities (Ruppietea maritimae). (3): Annual obligatory hygro-halophytic communities on sea, lake and river marshes dominated by stem or leaf succulent C3 chenopods (Thero-Salicornietea). (4) Semi-woody or perennial halophytic communities on muddy or coastal salt flats dominated by stem succulent C3 chenopods (Salicornietea fruticosae). (5): Hydrophilous euryhalophytic rush communities: Phragmitetea australis. (6): Halophytic grassland and herbaceous perennial sedge communities belonging to genera Puccinellia and Juncus (Juncetea maritimi). (7): Salt marsh and riverine bruchwood communities dominated by salt-excreting halophytes (Tamaricetea ramosissimae, prov.). (8): Annual halophytic communities dominated by C4 chenopods in temporary moist and inundated, or disturbed salty soils (Climacopteretea crassae, prov.). (9): Halophytic shrubby, semi-woody or hemicrytophytic communities on salty and dry soils dominated by leaf or stem succulent C4 chenopods (Haloxylo-Salsoletea tomentosae, prov.). (10): Halophytic shrub communities on salty and sandy coastal or margin of sabkhas with high water table dominated by Nitraria schoberi and Reaumuria fruticosa. (11). Psamo-halophytic shrub communities along sandy coasts of Persian Gulf and Oman sea (Sphaerocomion aucheri and communities of Zygophyllum qatarense and Heliotropium bacciferum and (12): Unclassified halophytic communities: Herbaceous perennial and hemicryptophyte halophytic communities of secondary origin. © 2004, Universita degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza'. All rights reserved.

Halophytes of Pakistan: Characteristics, Distribution and Potential Economic Uses. Sabkha Ecosystems Volume II: West and Central Asia

Article

Full-text available

May 2007

Flora Of Eastern Saudi Arabia

Book

Aug 2013

James P. Mandaville

Handbook of Arabian Medicinal Plants

Book

Aug 1994

Shahina Ghazanfar

Marine ecology of the Arabian region: patterns and processes in extreme tropical environments

Article

Jan 1992

The main purposes are to collate information of the region, to review marine systems and processes in the intertidal and shallow sublittoral parts of the Arabian seas, and to highlight human utilisation and environmental consequences. The first section presents the geological, geographical, climatic and oceanographic background to the area. The second section examines what is known of the region's marine communities, interpreting the relationships between the marine systems and physical conditions for: reefs and coral communities; coral reef fish assemblages; other reef components and processes; seaweeds and seasonality; seagrasses and other dynamic substrates; intertidal areas - mangal associated ecosystems, marshes, sabkha and beaches; and the pelagic system. The next section synthesizes and concludes the biogeographical material and interprets the effects of natural stress on the biota. The final section describes and discusses the human use and management of the region, including fisheries. -after Authors

Genetics resources, chromosome engineering, and crop improvement

Article

The coastal vegetation of the western and southern Gulf-characterisation and conservation aspects

Article

Jan 2008

Although we have a superficial overview of the main plant communities of coastal areas of the western and southern Gulf, in-depth studies are generally lacking, with a few notable exceptions. Coastal vegetation in the region is often equated solely to halophytic communities growing under the direct influence of salt-water, in extreme cases only to mangroves, the latter which in fact account for only a very small percentage of the total coastal vegetation. This narrow perspective has important conservation repercussions, especially given the current mass destruction of many parts of the Gulf coastline. Important speciesrich communities (flora and fauna) are being destroyed at an alarming rate without any mitigation measures, and even high-profile ecosystems, such as mangroves, are by no means immune from the on-going development frenzy. An important step towards the protection and sustainable use of environmental resources is their detailed characterisation and inventory, as well as elucidating their spatial distribution. The aims of this contribution are therefore three-fold: 1) to give an overview of the coastal vegetation of the area (Gulf coastline of the GCC countries), examining both halophytic and non-halophytic communities; 2) to highlight the most critical issues affecting coastal vegetation; and 3) to suggest conservation priorities and associated research projects. It is clear that much more detailed work is required to identify and assess remaining intact stretches of the coastline regarding their vegetation, flora and fauna.

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