Bassia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Amaranthaceae s.l.
Cladus: Chenopodiaceae s.str.
Subfamilia: Camphorosmoideae
Tribus: Camphorosmeae
Genus: Bassia
Overview of species

Accepted species: B. angustifolia – B. arabica – B. dinteri – B. eriantha – B. eriophora – B. hyssopifolia – B. indica – B. laniflora – B. lasiantha – B. littorea – B. muricata – B. odontoptera – B. pilosa – B. prostrata – B. salsoloides – B. scoparia – B. stellaris – B. tianschanica – B. tomentosa – B. villosissima

Names in synonymy: B. aegyptiaca – B. aellenii – B. alata – B. albescens – B. albolanata – B. americana – B. andersonii – B. anisacanthoides – B. articulata – B. astracantha – B. astrocarpa – B. beaugleholei – B. bicornis – B. bicuspis – B. biflora – B. birchii – B. blackiana – B. blakei – B. brachyptera – B. brevicuspis – B. brevifolia – B. burbidgeae – B. calcarata – B. californica – B. caput-casuarii – B. carnosa – B. caspica – B. chippendalei – B. clavata – B. clelandii – B. constricta – B. convexula – B. copleyi – B. cornishiana – B. costata – B. crassifolia – B. crenata – B. cristata – B. cucullata – B. dallachyana – B. dasyphylla – B. decurrens – B. densiflora – B. diacantha – B. diffusa – B. divaricata – B. drummondii – B. echinopsila – B. eichleri – B. enchylaenoides – B. eremaea – B. eriacantha – B. eriochiton – B. eurotioides – B. everistiana – B. fiedleri – B. filiformis – B. forrestiana – B. gardneri – B. georgei – B. glabra – B. globosa – B. hirsuta – B. holtiana – B. hostilis – B. inchoata – B. intricata – B. iranica – B. johnsonii – B. joppensis – B. krylovii – B. lanata – B. lanicuspis – B. lanuginosa – B. limbata – B. litoralis – B. londesia – B. longicuspis – B. longifolia – B. luehmannii – B. melanoptera – B. micrantha – B. microcarpa – B. minuta – B. monticola – B. muelleri – B. murrayae – B. nitida – B. obconica – B. obliquicuspis – B. oppositicuspis – B. paradoxa – B. parallelicuspis – B. parviflora – B. patenticuspis – B. pulverulenta – B. quinquecuspis – B. ramsayae – B. ramulosa – B. recurvicuspis – B. reuteriana – B. salsuginosa – B. saxicola – B. sclerolaenoides – B. scrymgeouriae – B. sedifolia – B. sedoides – B. sicorica – B. sieversiana – B. spinosa – B. stelligera – B. stylosa – B. suaedacea – B. symoniana – B. tatei – B. tetracuspis – B. tricornis – B. tricuspis – B. tridens – B. tubata – B. uniflora – B. urceolata – B. ventricosa – B. walkeri – B. wilsonii

for Chenoleoides:

C. arabica – C. dinteri – C. tomentosa

For Echinopsilon:

E. anisacanthoides – E. brachypterum – E. carnosum – E. caspicum –E. crassifolium – E. dasyphyllum – E. diffusum – E. divaricatum – E. eriophorum – E. eurotioides – E. hirsutum – E. hyssopifolium – E. lanatum – E. muricatum – E. reuterianum – E. sclerolaenoides – E. sedoides – E. sericeum – E. stelligerum – E. tibeticum

for Kirilowia:

K. eriantha – K. pilosa – K. villosa

for Kochia:

K. alata – K. albovillosa – K. americana – K. amoena – K. angustifolia – K. aphylla – K. appressa – K. arenaria – K. astrotricha – K. atkinsiana – K. atriplicifolia – K. brachyptera – K. brevifolia – K. brownii – K. californica – K. cana – K. cannonii – K. carnosa – K. cheelii – K. childsii – K. ciliata – K. cinerea – K. concava – K. coronata – K. crassiloba – K. dasyantha – K. dasyphylla – K. decaptera – K. decipiens – K. decumbens – K. densiflora – K. dentata – K. dichoptera – K. diffusa – K. dioica – K. enchylaenoides – K. eriantha – K. ericifolia – K. erioclada – K. eriophora – K. excavata – K. fimbriolata – K. georgei – K. glomerifolia – K. griffithii – K. hirsuta – K. humillima – K. hyssopifolia – K. indica – K. integra – K. iranica – K. krylowii – K. laniflora – K. lanosa – K. latifolia – K. littorea – K. lobiflora – K. lobostoma – K. macroptera – K. maritima – K. massonii – K. melanocoma – K. melanoptera – K. microcarpa – K. microphylla – K. monacantha – K. monticola – K. muricata – K. murrayana – K. noaeana – K. odontoptera – K. oppositifolia – K. ostenfeldii – K. ovata – K. parodii – K. pentagona – K. pentatropis – K. planifolia – K. platyphylla – K. polypterygia – K. prosthecochaeta – K. prostrata – K. pubescens – K. pyramidata – K. radiata – K. reuteriana – K. rohrlachii – K. salsoloides – K. sanguinea – K. saxicola – K. schrenkiana – K. scleroptera – K. scoparia – K. sedifolia – K. sedoides – K. sericea – K. sicorica – K. sieversiana – K. spinifex – K. spongiocarpa – K. stellaris – K. stelligera – K. stowardii – K. suaedifolia – K. suffruticulosa – K. tamariscina – K. thesioides – K. thymifolia – K. tianschanica – K. tomentosa – K. toseffii – K. trichophylla – K. trigyna – K. triptera – K. tripteris – K. vestita – K. villosa – K. villosissima – K. virgata

for Londesia:

L. eriantha

for Panderia:

P. divaricata – P. monticola – P. pilosa – P. turkestanica

for Willemetia:

W. arenaria – W. caspica – W. eriophora – W. hirsuta – W. lanata – W. muricata – W. sedoides

for Bushiola: B. scoparia

Name

Bassia All., Mélanges Philos. Math. Soc. Roy. Turin 3: 177. (1766)

Type species: (Lectotype, designated by Schweinfurth, Beitr. Fl. Aethiop. 187, 1867.): Bassia aegyptiaca All. = Bassia muricata (L.) Asch.
In 1766, Allioni did not give a species name, but from All., Mélanges Philos. Math. Soc. Roy. Turin 3: 9 178. (1766) & 5: 93 (1770) it seems that Bassia aegyptiaca All. could be interpreted as the base for his genus description .

Synonyms

Heterotypic (ref. Kadereit & Freitag 2011)
Chenoleoides (Ulbr.) Botsch., Botaničeskii Žhurnal (Moscow & Leningrad) 61(10): 1408. (1976)
Basionym Chenolea sect. Chenoleoides Ulbr., Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, Zweite Auflage 16c: 530. (1934)
Echinopsilon Moq., Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. sér. 2, 2: 127. (1834), replaced Willemetia Maerkl.
Kirilowia Bunge, Delectus Seminum Horti Botanicus 1843: 7. (1843)
Type species: not designated
Kochia Roth, Journal für die Botanik 1800(1): 307. (1801)
Type species: Kochia arenaria (G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb.) Roth
Londesia Fisch. & C.A.Mey., Index Seminum [St. Petersburg] 2: 40. (1835 [1836])
Type species: Londesia eriantha Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Panderia Fisch. & C.A.Mey., Index Seminum [St. Petersburg] 2: 21, 46. (1835 [1836])
Type species: Panderia pilosa Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Willemetia Maerkl., Journal für die Botanik 1800 (1): 329. (1801) (nom. illeg., later homonym of Willemetia Neck. 1777-1778)
Bushiola Nieuwl., Amer. Midl. Naturalist 4: 95. (1915), nom. illeg. (nom. superfl., published as nom. nov. for Kochia Roth.)
Type species: Bushiola scoparia (L.) Nieuwl.

Homonyms

Bassia J.Koenig, Mant. Pl. Altera [Linnaeus] 555 (1771), nom. illeg. hom. vide Madhuca Ham. ex J.F.Gmel., Syst. Nat. ed. 13[bis]: 799. (1791) (Sapotaceae)

References
Primary references

Allioni, C. 1766. Stirpium aliquot descriptiones cum duorum novorum generum constitutione. Mélanges de Philosophie et de Mathématique de la Société Royale de Turin 3: 176–184. BHL Reference page. : 177, pl. 4
Allioni, C. 1774. Auctarium ad synopsim methodicam stirpium Horti reg. Taurinensis. Mélanges de Philosophie et de Mathématique de la Société Royale de Turin 5: 53–96. Journal print (preprinted in 1773 with own pagination 1–44) Reference page. : 93
Botschantzev, V.P. 1976. New genus Chenoleoides (Ulbr.) Botsch. (Chenopodiaceae). Botanicheskii Zhurnal. Moscow & Leningrad 61: 1408–1409. [In Russian.] Reference page.
Bunge, A.v. 1843. Delectus Seminum quae in horto botanico universitatis caesareae Dorpatensis collecta, pro mutua communicatione offeruntur. Reference page. : 8
Moquin-Tandon, A. in: Soyer-Willemet, H.F. 1834. Notes sur les genres qui ont recu le nom de Willemetia. Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, sér. 2 2: 127–128. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Kadereit, G. & Freitag, H. 2011. Molecular phylogeny of Camphorosmeae (Camphorosmoideae, Chenopodiaceae): Implications for biogeography, evolution of C4-photosynthesis and taxonomy. Taxon 60(1): 51–78. Full text PDF.Reference page.
Uotila, P. 2011. Bassia. In: Chenopodiaceae (pro parte majore). Euro+Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.
Zhu, G., Mosyakin, S.L. & Clemants, S.E. 2004.
'eFloras 2008. Bassia (Amaranthaceae) in Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Zhu, G., Mosyakin, S.L. & Clemants, S.E. 2004. Kochia in Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Bassia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Aug. 19. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2019. Bassia. 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. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Nov. 27. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Bassia. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 27 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Bassia (Amaranthaceae). Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 27 Nov. 2019.
GBIF. Bassia

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Radmelde
English: Smotherweed
suomi: Suolukat, kesäsypressit
Nederlands: Zoutkruid
中文: 地肤属 = di fu shu, 雾冰藜属 = wu bing li

Bassia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. They are distributed in the western Mediterranean to eastern Asia.[1] Some occur outside their native ranges as introduced species.[2]

Description

The species of genus Bassia are annuals or perennial subshrubs. Their leaves are variable. The flowers are normally inconspicuous, in spike-like inflorescences without bracteoles. The fruits are achenes. The seed contains an annular, horseshoe-shaped or folded embryo that surrounds the perisperm. The fruiting perianth remains either unappendaged or develops 5 wings. The wings are spiny in Bassia hyssopifolia.[1]

According to its most recent description, the genus is defined by its three types of C4 "kochioid" leaf anatomy. Many other characters cannot be used to differentiate species from one another, because they are variable among individuals within the species.[1]
Habitat

The genus mainly occurs in steppe and desert ecosystems.[2] Some species can be found in ruderal sites and salt marshes up to subalpine altitudes. Phylogenetical research suggests that the genus evolved in the Miocene.[1]
Uses

Some palatable species of Bassia with high protein content are valuable components of rangelands, sometimes seeded for the melioration of overgrazed rangelands.[1]
Systematics

The genus name Bassia was first published in 1766 by Carlo Allioni, with the type species Bassia muricata L. (under the name B. aegyptiaca). The genus belongs to the subfamily Camphorosmoideae of the Amaranthaceae.

As of 2011, after its most recent reorganization, it contains about 20 species.[1]
Bassia laniflora

Species include:[1]

Bassia angustifolia (Turcz.) Freitag & G.Kadereit
Bassia arabica (Boiss.) Maire & Weiller
Bassia dinteri (Botsch.) A.J.Scott
Bassia eriophora (Schrad.) Asch.
Bassia hyssopifolia (Pall.) Kuntze – fivehorn smotherweed[3]
Bassia indica (Wight) A.J.Scott
Bassia laniflora (S.G.Gmel.) A.J.Scott
Bassia lasiantha Freitag & G.Kadereit
Bassia littorea (Makino) Freitag & G.Kadereit
Bassia muricata (L.) Asch.
Bassia odontoptera (Schrenk) Freitag & G.Kadereit
Bassia pilosa (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Freitag & G.Kadereit
Bassia prostrata (L.) A.J.Scott – forage kochia,[3] prostrate summer-cypress[4]
Bassia salsoloides (Fenzl) A.J.Scott
Bassia scoparia (L.) A.J.Scott – burningbush, belvedere, kochia, Mexican fireweed, Mexican firebrush[5]
Bassia stellaris (Moq.) Bornm.
Bassia tianschanica (Pavlov) Freitag & G.Kadereit
Bassia tomentosa (Lowe) Maire & Weiller
Bassia villosissima (Bong. & C.A.Mey.) Freitag & G.Kadereit

Several other species formerly classified in Bassia are now treated in new genera in the subfamily Camphorosmoideae, some of them monotypic. B. hirsuta is now the only member of genus Spirobassia, and B. sedoides is the monotypic Sedobassia. B. dasyphylla is part of Grubovia. Bassia saxicola[6] is now Eokochia saxicola.[1]
References

Kadereit, G. and H. Freitag. (2011). Molecular phylogeny of Camphorosmeae (Camphorosmoideae, Chenopodiaceae): Implications for biogeography, evolution of C4-photosynthesis and taxonomy. Taxon 60(1), 51-78.
Bassia. Flora of North America.
Bassia. USDA PLANTS.
"Bassia prostrata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 January 2018.
"Bassia scoparia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 January 2018.
Domina, G. and A. Santangelo. 2011. Bassia saxicola. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. Downloaded on 04 August 2013.