Oxygonum alatum Burch.

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Polygonaceae > Oxygonum

Characteristics

An annual herb. It grows 30-70 cm high. It branches from teh crown of the root. The leaves are small and sword shaped and about 5 cm long. Along the stem and leaf stalk there are cup like scales. The flowers are in a loose group 10-20 cm long. They are in clusters of 3. The flowers are star shaped and pinkish white. The fruit is a nut with 3 wings.
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Flowers pedicellate, 2–4 in the axils of bracts, arranged in lax terminal and axillary spiciform racemes 10–25(30) cm long; bracts membranous, 4–5 mm long, obliquely truncate and produced dorsally into a subulate seta 1–2 mm long; pedicels up to 7 mm long, pubescent or with cup-shaped and/or elongated scales.
Leaves fleshy, (14)17–85(125) × (2)4–25 mm, ovate to lanceolate sometimes rhomboid, acute at the apex, attenuate below into a short petiole, entire or shallowly to deeply lobed, the lobes usually further divided, midrib prominent on the undersurface.
Ocrea greenish-white, membranous, up to 1 cm long, funnel-shaped, glabrescent or covered with cup-shaped and/or elongated scales, truncate and fringed at the apex with red or white rigid setae 2–3.5 mm long, lobed or sometimes entire.
Nut red or yellow-brown, (9)10–13 × 9–11 mm, trigonous, winged or not at the angles, sometimes with small spreading prickles in the lower one third, glabrous or with a few scattered cup-shaped and/or elongated scales.
Stems pinkish to reddish-purple, up to 50 cm tall, much branched from the base, longitudinally ridged, sparsely to densely covered with white cup-shaped and/or elongated scales.
Hermaphrodite flowers heterostylous; perianth pink or white, 5-lobed; tube c. 5 mm long; lobes 5–7 mm long and ovate-lanceolate.
Ovary 5–7 × 1–1.5 mm; styles of the long-styled flowers 3–3.5 mm long; styles of the short-styled flowers 1–3.5 mm long.
Filaments 1.5–4 mm long, with a ring of cilia near the base; anthers grey-blue to blackish, 0.5–1 × 0.3–0.5 mm.
Male flowers present; perianth 4–5 mm long; lobes 1–2 mm long; filaments 3–3.5 mm long.
A spreading prostrate semi-erect or erect, fleshy annual herb.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.25 - 0.6
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
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Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in the Kalahari. It grows in hot arid places with a marked dry season. The dry season can be 6-11 months. It grows in stony and sandy soils. It grows between 500-2,000 m above sea level. It can tolerate shade. It can grow in arid places.
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Deep sandy soils in desert areas. On hot and somewhat rocky sands, in places neglected after cultivation, and by roadsides.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The leaves are eaten raw or cooked.
Uses food gene source medicinal
Edible fruits leaves stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
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Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Oxygonum alatum world distribution map, present in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:694806-1
WFO ID wfo-0000386986
COL ID 4BF8P
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Oxygonum alatum Oxygonum alatum var. incisum Oxygonum alatum var. integrifolium Oxygonum alatum var. marlothii