Chenopodioideae
The Chenopodioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae in the APG III system, which is largely based on molecular phylogeny, but were included – together with other subfamilies – in the family Chenopodiaceae, or goosefoot family, in the Cronquist system.
Food species comprise spinach, Good King Henry, several Chenopodium species, orache, and epazote. The name is Greek for goosefoot, the common name of a genus of plants having small greenish flowers.
Description
The Chenopodioideae are annual or perennial herbs, subshrubs, shrub or small trees. The leaves are usually alternate and flat.The flowers are often unisexual. Many species are monoecious or have mixed inflorescences of bisexual and unisexual flowers. Some species are dioecious, like Spinacia, Grayia, Exomis microphylla, and Atriplex. In several species of tribe Atripliceae, the female flowers are without perianth, but enclosed by two bracts. The species with a perianth have up to five tepals. The seed is horizontal or vertical, with annular or horseshoe-shaped embryo.
Distribution
The subfamily Chenopodioideae is distributed worldwide, but originates from Eurasia.Systematics
The genera of this subfamily were formerly classified in family Chenopodiaceae in the Cronquist system.According to Fuentes-Bazan et al. and based on molecular genetic research, the subfamily comprises four tribes and includes about twenty-six genera:
- Tribus Anserineae Dumort., with two genera:
- * Spinacia L.: with three species in Western Asia and North Africa:
- ** Spinach
- * Blitum, with 12 species nearly worldwide, for example:
- ** Blitum capitatum – Strawberry Blite
- ** Blitum bonus-henricus – Good King Henry
- ** Blitum virgatum – leafy goosefoot
- Tribus Atripliceae C. A. Mey. : Fuentes-Bazan et al. include here also Chenopodium and related genera, as Chenopodiastrum, Lipandra and Oxybasis.
- *Archiatriplex G.L.Chu, with only one species:
- **Archiatriplex nanpinensis G.L.Chu: endemic in the Chinese province Sichuan.
- * Atriplex L. - saltbush, orache, with about 300 species worldwide
- * Baolia H.W.Kung & G.L.Chu, with only one species:
- ** Baolia bracteata H.W.Kung & G.L.Chu, endemic in the Chinese province Gansu.
- * Chenopodiastrum S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch: with five species, for example:
- ** Chenopodiastrum hybridum S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch
- ** Chenopodiastrum murale S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch – Sowbane, nettle-leaf goosefoot
- ** Chenopodiastrum simplex S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch – Maple-leaf goosefoot
- * Chenopodium L. – goosefoot : with about 90 species worldwide.
- * Exomis Fenzl ex Moq., with only one species:
- ** Exomis microphylla Aellen: a subshrub in southern and western Africa growing in gardens and hedges.
- * Extriplex E.H.Zacharias, with two species in western North America:
- ** Extriplex californica E.H.Zacharias – California saltbush, California orache
- ** Extriplex joaquinana E.H.Zacharias – San Joaquin saltbush, San Joaquin orach
- * Grayia Hook. & Arn. – siltbush, hopsage, with four shrubby species in western North America, for example:
- ** Grayia spinosa Moq. – spiny hopsage
- * Halimione Aellen – purslane, with three species in Europe and Western Asia, for example:
- ** Halimione portulacoides Aellen – sea purslane
- * Holmbergia Hicken, with only one species:
- ** Holmbergia tweedii Speg., a shrub in Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.
- * Lipandra Moq.: with only one species:
- ** Lipandra polysperma S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch – many-seed goosefoot
- * Manochlamys Aellen, with only one species:
- ** Manochlamys albicans Aellen: a subshrub in southern Africa, Namibia and Cape province, growing on rocky and sandy slopes, sand dunes and road sides.
- * Microgynoecium Hook.f., with only one species:
- ** Microgynoecium tibeticum Hook.f.: in Tibet and Sikkim, growing in alpine meadows and on disturbed sites.
- * Micromonolepis Ulbr., with only one species:
- ** Micromonolepis pusilla Ulbr. – small povertyweed, in western North America
- * Oxybasis Kar. & Kir.: with five species, for example:
- ** Oxybasis chenopodioides S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch – low goosefoot
- ** Oxybasis glauca S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch – Oak-leaved goosefoot
- ** Oxybasis rubra S. Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch – Red Goosefoot
- * Proatriplex Stutz & G.L.Chu, with only one species:
- ** Proatriplex pleiantha Stutz & G.L.Chu, an annual herb from western North America.
- * Stutzia E.H.Zacharias, with two annual species in western North America:
- ** Stutzia covillei E.H.Zacharias
- ** Stutzia dioica E.H.Zacharias
- Tribus Axyrideae G. Kadereit & A. Sukhor., with dendritic trichomes. three genera:
- * Axyris L., with about six species Central Asia, Himalaya and western China, for example:
- ** Axyris amaranthoides L. – Russian pigweed, upright axyris
- * Ceratocarpus L., with two species in Europe and West Asia
- * Krascheninnikovia Gueldenst., with eight species in Eurasia and western North America, for example:
- ** Krascheninnikovia lanata A.Meeuse & A.Smit – winterfat
- Tribus Dysphanieae:
- * Cycloloma Moq. with only one species:
- ** Cycloloma atriplicifolium J.M.Coulter: widespread in Canada, USA and northern Mexico
- * Dysphania R.Br., with about 42 species worldwide, for example:
- ** Dysphania ambrosioides – epazote
- ** Dysphania anthelmintica – wormseed
- * Neomonolepis, with one species, Neomonolepis spathulata, from western North America.
- * Suckleya A.Gray, with only one species:
- ** Suckleya suckleyana Rydb., a succulent annual from western North America.
- * Teloxys Moq.: with only one species:
- ** Teloxys aristata Moq. : from Eastern Europe to temperate Asia, naturalized elsewhere.