Alhagi maurorum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Fabaceae
Subfamilia: Faboideae
Tribus: Hedysareae
Genus: Alhagi
Species: Alhagi maurorum
Subspecies: A. m. subsp. canescens – A. m. subsp. graecorum – A. m. subsp. kirghisorum – A. m. subsp. maurorum
Varietas: A. m. var. turcorum
Name

Alhagi maurorum Medik., 1787
Synonyms

Alhagi alhagi (L.) Huth
Hedysarum alhagi L.

Homonyms

Hedysarum alhagi Sibth. & Sm. (1832) = Alhagi graecorum Boiss.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Central Asia
Afghanistan, Altay, China North-Central, Inner Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Qingha, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang
Regional: Western Asia
Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Palestine, Sinai, Transcaucasus, Turkey
Regional: Arabian Peninsula
Gulf States, Kuwait, Omani, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
Regional: Indian Subcontinent
India, West Himalaya
Continental: Europe
Regional: Eastern Europe
East European Russia, Greece, South European Russia
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Niger, Sudan
Introduced into:
California, Cape Provinces, Colorado, Czechoslovakia, Mexico Northwest, New Mexico, New South Wales, South Australia, Texas, Utah, Victoria, Western Australia

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Medikus, F.K. 1787. Vorlesungen der Churpfälzischen physicalisch-öconomischen Gesellschaft 2: 397.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Alhagi maurorum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Feb 02. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Alhagi maurorum. Published online. Accessed: Feb 02 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Alhagi maurorum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 02 Feb 2021.
Hassler, M. 2021. Alhagi maurorum. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Feb 02. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Alhagi maurorum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.
'eFloras 2008. Flora of Pakistan. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Vernacular names
English: Camelthorn

Alhagi maurorum is a species of legume commonly known, variously, as camelthorn,[1] camelthorn-bush,[1] Caspian manna,[1] and Persian mannaplant.[1] This shrub is native to the region extending from the Mediterranean to Russia, but has been introduced to many other areas of the world, including Australia, southern Africa, and the western United States. The perennial plant grows from a massive rhizome system which may extend over six feet into the ground. New shoots can appear over 20 feet from the parent plant. Above the ground, the plant rarely reaches four feet in height. It is a heavily branched, gray-green thicket with long spines along the branches. It bears small, bright pink to maroon pea flowers and small legume pods, which are brown or reddish and constricted between the seeds. The seeds are mottled brown beans.

Distribution

Alhagi maurorum is indigenous to temperate and tropical Eurasia and the Middle East, in: Afghanistan; Armenia; Azerbaijan; northwest China; Cyprus; northern India; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Mongolia; Pakistan; Syria; Tajikistan; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; and Russia (in Ciscaucasia, Dagestan, southern European Russia, and the southern part of the West Siberian Plain).[1]

A. maurorum has become naturalized in Australia and the southwest U.S.[1]
Uses

Alhagi maurorum has been used locally in folk medicine as a treatment for glandular tumors, nasal polyps, and ailments related to the bile ducts.[2] It is used as a medicinal herb for its gastroprotective, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, antidiarrhoeal and antiseptic properties, and in the treatment of rheumatism and hemorrhoids. The plant is mentioned in the Qur’an as a source of sweet Manna.[3] It has also been used as a sweetener.[1]

In the folk medicine of Iran, Alhagi maurorum decoction has been used for jaundice therapy.[4]
Ecology

Alhagi maurorum is a noxious weed outside its native range. It is a contaminant of alfalfa seed, and grows readily when accidentally introduced to a cultivated field. It has a wide soil tolerance, thriving on saline, sandy, rocky, and dry soils. It does best when growing next to a source of water, such as an irrigation ditch. It is unpalatable to animals and irritating when it invades forage and grazing land.
References

The name Alhagi maurorum, replacing Linnaeus' Hedysarum alhagi, was first published in Vorlesungen der Churpfälzischen physicalisch-ökonomischen Gesellschaft 2: 397. 1787. "Alhagi maurorum". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 13, 2011.
James A. Duke. "Alhagi maurorum (FABACEAE)". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
Tafsir al-Jalalayn. 1505. p. 171. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
Tewari D, Mocan A, Parvanov ED, Sah AN, Nabavi SM, Huminiecki L, Ma ZF, Lee YY, Horbańczuk JO, Atanasov AG (Aug 2017). "Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I". Front Pharmacol. 8: 518. doi:10.3389/fphar.2017.00518. PMC 5559545. PMID 28860989.