Calligonum

Calligonum
Calligonum polygonoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Subfamily: Polygonoideae
Genus: Calligonum
L.
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Calliphysa Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Gibsonia Stocks
  • Pallasia L.f.
  • Polygonoides Ortega
  • Pterococcus Pall.

Calligonum is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with about 41 species native to Northern Africa, Western, South, and Central Asia, and central China.

Description

Plants of the genus Calligonum are shrubs, diffusely but irregularly branched, with flexuous woody branches. Leaves are simple, opposite, nearly sessile, linear or scale-like, sometimes absent or very small, linear or filiform, distinct or united with short membranous ochreae. Flowers are bisexual, solitary or in loose axillary inflorescences. Flowers have persistent, 5-parted perianths not accrescent in fruit, and 10-18 stamens with filaments connate at the base. The ovary is tetragonous.

Taxonomy

The genus Calligonum was first published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is placed in the subfamily Polygonoideae, tribe Calligoneae, along with its sister genus, Pteropyrum.

Species

41 species are accepted.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Calligonum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "Calligonum". Flora of Pakistan. Retrieved 2013-11-23 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  3. ↑ Bojian, Bao; Grabovskaya-Borodina, Alisa E. "Calligonum". Flora of China. Vol. 5. Retrieved 2013-11-23 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  4. ↑ "Calligonum L." International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  5. ↑ Schuster, Tanja M.; Reveal, James L.; Bayly, Michael J. & Kron, Kathleen A. (2015), "An updated molecular phylogeny of Polygonoideae (Polygonaceae): Relationships of Oxygonum, Pteroxygonum, and Rumex, and a new circumscription of Koenigia", Taxon, 64 (6): 1188–1208, Bibcode:2015Taxon..64.1188S, doi:10.12705/646.5