Salsola

 ( Halophytes ) 

Salsola is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus sensu stricto is distributed in Australia, central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. Common names of various members of this genus and related genera are saltwort (for their salt tolerance) and tumbleweed or roly-poly. The genus name Salsola is from the Latin salsus, meaning .

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Description The species of Salsola are mostly , , small , and rarely annual plant. The leaves are mostly alternate, rarely opposite, simple, and entire. The bisexual flowers have five and five . The pistil ends in two stigmata. The fruit is spherical with a spiral embryo and no Ovule.

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Systematics The genus name Salsola was first published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum. The type species is Salsola soda L.

The genus Salsola belongs to the tribe Salsoleae s.s. of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus was recircumscribed in 2007 based on molecular phylogenetic research, greatly reducing the number of species. Synonyms of Salsola sensu stricto are: Darniella Maire & Weiller, Fadenia Aellen & Townsend, Neocaspia Tzvelev and Hypocylix Wol..

Plants of the World Online includes: Plants of the World Online: Salsola L. (retrieved 3 March 2024)

1. Salsola acanthoclada
2. Salsola africana
3. Salsola algeriensis
4. Salsola angusta
5. Salsola australis
6. Salsola austrotibetica
7. Salsola baranovii
8. Salsola basaltica
9. Salsola brevifolia
10. Salsola chellalensis
11. Salsola chinghaiensis
12. Salsola collina
13. Salsola cruciata
14. Salsola drummondii
15. Salsola euryphylla
16. Salsola glomerata
17. Salsola × gobicola
18. Salsola griffithii
19. Salsola gypsacea
20. Salsola halimocnemis
21. Salsola hartmannii
22. Salsola ikonnikovii
23. Salsola intramongolica
24. Salsola jacquemontii
25. Salsola junatovii
26. Salsola kali
27. Salsola komarovii
28. Salsola mairei
29. Salsola masclansii
30. Salsola melitensis
31. Salsola monoptera
32. Salsola papillosa
33. Salsola paulsenii
34. Salsola pontica
35. Salsola praecox
36. Salsola praemontana
37. Salsola ryanii
38. Salsola sabrinae
39. Salsola sinkiangensis
40. Salsola squarrosa
41. Salsola strobilifera
42. Salsola subglabra
43. Salsola tamamschjanae
44. Salsola tamariscina
45. Salsola tragus (sometimes placed in Kali)
46. Salsola tunetana
47. Salsola turcica
48. Salsola webbii
49. Salsola zaidamica
50. Salsola zygophylla

Excluded species: Many species formerly grouped in Salsola were excluded by Akhani et al. (2007). Some may now be classified in separate genera:

• AfrosalsolaAkhani H., Abdullahi H. . y Rudov A. (2024). Afrosalsola (Amaranthaceae-Chenopodiaceae), an intermediate C3-C4 lineage from NW Africa and the Canary Islands, and some new combinations in African species of Caroxylon and Soda. Mediterranean Botany /ref>
• Afrosalsola deschaseauxiana (syn. Salsola deschaseauxiana )
• Afrosalsola divaricata (syn. Salsola divaricata )
• Caroxylon (for Salsola sect. Caroxylon)
• Caroxylon imbricatum (Forssk.) Moq. (syn. Salsola imbricata Forssk.)
• Caroxylon vermiculatum (L.) Akhani & Roalson (syn. Salsola vermiculata L.)
• Kaviria (for Salsola sect. Belanthera)
• Turania (for Salsola sect. Sogdiana)
• Xylosalsola (for Salsola sect. Coccosalsola subsect. Arbuscula)

They are shrubby halophyte plants with opposite and alternate branches and leaves. They have a distinct leaf anatomy with a hypodermis and kranz anatomy that perform C₂ photosynthesis, a C₃-C₄ intermediate photosynthetic pathway. The species were formerly included in the genus Salsola, which was found to be polyphyletic. In 2024 Hossein Akhani et al. described the new genus Afrosalsola to include the two species.

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Uses Salsola komarovii is collected in the wild and cultivated in Asia.

(1991). 9780719547812, Murray. ISBN 9780719547812

In Namibia, where introduced Salsola species are called gannabos, they are valuable fodder plants.

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