Chenopodiastrum murale (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch, Willdenowia 42(1): 14 (2012)

Sukhorukov, Alexander P., Liu, Pei-Liang & Kushunina, Maria, 2019, Taxonomic revision of Chenopodiaceae in Himalaya and Tibet, PhytoKeys 116, pp. 1-141 : 32-33

1. Chenopodiastrum murale (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsch, Willdenowia 42(1): 14 (2012) Fig. 12

≡ Chenopodium murale L., Sp. Pl.: 219 (1753). Lectotype (designated by Brenan 1954): Herb. Linn. 313.6 (LINN! image available at http://linnean-online.org/3080/).

= Chenopodium ilicifolium Griff., Not. Pl. Asiat. 4: 337 & Tab. 521 (1854). Described from Shikarpur, Pakistan (type n.v.).

Taxonomic notes.

Chenopodium ilicifolium was previously synonymised with Chenopodium botrys (≡ Dysphania botrys ); see Press et al. (2000). Despite the absence of the authentic herbarium, we merge Chenopodium ilicifolium with Chenopodiastrum murale for the following reasons: (1) the drawings of C. ilicifolium ( Griffith 1854) show the plant with dentate leaves, a short and leafy inflorescence, closed flowers and fruit with a papillate pericarp. These traits are characteristic of C. murale . Additionally, the city of Shikarpur is located on the plains where other Chenopodiastrum do not occur. The merger of Chenopodium ilicifolium with Chenopodiastrum murale is consistent with the opinion of Singh (2014, sub Chenopodium murale ).

Description.

Annual, 10-50 cm, erect, with several lateral branches, slightly mealy. Leaves 2.0-6.0 × 1.0-5.0 cm, dark green, broadly deltoid-ovate, upper leaves narrow and long-acuminate, mucronulate, cuneate, coarsely and irregularly dentate, rarely subentire or erose-dentate; teeth acute and ± incurved. Inflorescences terminal and axillary (leafy) with loosely branched cymes. Perianth segments slightly keeled with a distinct swelling below the apex. Fruit 1.3-1.4 mm, pericarp tightly adjoining the seed, papillate. Seed with prominent keel and surface densely covered with small pits (Fig. 13A, B ).

Habitat.

Disturbed places; up to 2000 m a.s.l. Reported as a common species in the foothills of Chamba District, Himachal Pradesh ( Singh and Sharma 2006).

Phenology.

Flowering and fruiting: December-April (in the plains), March-September in the foothills.

Distribution.

See Fig. 14 .

Specimens examined.

INDIA: Jammu & Kashmir: [without locality and date] Jacquemont s.n. (P04993274); Udhampur, 3 Apr 1987, A. Swami 1089 (BSD); Himachal Pradesh: Bilaspur Distr., [without date] P. Lai 78966 (BSD); [Simla Distr.] Rampur, 14 Jun 1962, N.C. Nair 22677 (BSD); Uttarakhand: Dehradun, 23 May 1972, H. Naithani 3510 (DD); Garhwal Distr., Jogiyna vill., 19 Feb 1979, A.K. Goel 64713 (BSD); Tehri Garhwal Distr., Chham vill., 10 Apr 1993, B.P. Uniyal 79275 (BSD);

NEPAL: Midwestern: Rapti Zone: [Rolpa Distr.] Phalabang, 4500 ft a.s.l., 24 Mar 1952, O. Polunin, W.R. Sykes & L.H.J. Williams 654 (BM); observed by Sukhorukov in Kathmandu valley and near Bidur village (Bagmati Zone).

General distribution.

Widely distributed in tropics and subtropics in all parts of the world. Origin unknown, but Sukhorukov (2014) proposed that it may be Eastern Africa and Arabia, where the morphologically similar C. fasciculosum (Aellen) Mosyakin occurs. Chenopodiastrum murale is rather common in the plains of India, but there are limited collections from the Himalayan foothills. The species was not observed by AS in Dehradun (Uttarakhand, India) and surroundings in February 2018.

Figures

Figure 12. Chenopodiastrum murale plants at blooming stage. Photograph by A. Sukhorukov (Dead Sea area, Israel, February 2011).

Figure 13. SEM micrographs of Chenopodiastrum murale (A, B) and C. badachschanicum (C, D) seeds. Magnification: 50 x (A, C), 200 x (B, D).

Figure 14. Distribution map of Chenopodiastrum murale (circles) and C. badachschanicum (stars).