Amaranthaceae (sugarbeet, spinach family)

[=Chenopodiaceae]

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Core Eudicots > Order: Caryophyllales

About 174 genera and 2050 species (cosmopolitan) of which 38 genera and 235 species are indigenous or naturalised in southern Africa.

Genera native or naturalised (*) in southern Africa

Subfamily: Amaranthoideae

Achyranthes The 6-8 species are found in warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World, with one species, Achyranthes aspera, found in southern Africa.
Achyropsis The 6 species are found in Africa, with 2 found in southern Africa.
Aerva About 10 species, found in the warmer regions of Africa and Asia, with 3 of them occurring in southern Africa.
Amaranthus About 60 species, found worldwide mainly in warmer regions. There are about 15 species in southern Africa, some of them introduced weeds. Some species of Amaranthus are cultivated and the leaves cooked like spinach ('morogo').
Arthraerua One species, Arthraerua leubnitziae, found on the coast of Namibia.
Calicorema The 2 species are endemic to southern Africa (Namibia and Northern Cape).
Celosia About 45 species, found in the warmer regions of the world, with 2 species indigenous to southern Africa.
Centema The 2 species are found in southern tropical Africa, one of which, Centema subfusca, is found in southern Africa.
Centrostachys One species, Centrostachys aquatica, which has a wide distribution over tropical Africa and Asia.
Cyathula About 25 species, widespread in the tropics, with 6 species found in southern Africa.
Hermbstaedtia About 15 species, found in Africa, with 11 of them occurring in southern Africa.
Kyphocarpa About 4 species, found in tropical and southern Africa.
Leucosphaera One species, Leucosphaera bainesii, found in Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Northern Cape (South Africa).
Marcelliopsis Three species, all endemic to Namibia.
Nelsia Two species, 1 in Angola and 1 (Nelsia quadrangula) in Namibia and Botswana.
Nothosaerva One species, Nothosaerva brachiata, with a wide distribution covering the Indian subcontinent and tropical Africa, including the Northern Province and northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Pandiaka About 12 species, found in tropical Africa, with one species, Pandiaka carsonii, found in southern Africa (northern Namibia).
Psilotrichum About 18 species, occurring in tropical Africa and Asia, with one species, Psilotrichum scleranthum, found in southern Africa (Northern Province and KwaZulu-Natal).
Pupalia Four species, occurring in the Old World tropics, with 2 species found in southern Africa.
Sericocoma The 3 species are endemic to southern Africa.
Sericorema The 2 species are found in the arid regions of southern Africa.

Subfamily: Gomphrenoideae

* Alternanthera

About 100 species, found mainly in the New World tropics and subtropics; 4 species have become naturalised in southern Africa.

* Gomphrena

About 120 species, found mainly in the New World tropics and subtropics and also Australia; 2 species have become naturalised as weeds in southern Africa

* Guilleminea

The 5 species are native to the Americas; 1 species, Guilleminea densa, has become naturalised as a weed in southern Africa.

Subfamily: Chenopodioideae (formerly in family Chenopodiaceae)

Atriplex About 250 species, found worldwide, mainly in arid, saline or disturbed habitats in temperate and tropical regions; there are 19 species in southern Africa, some naturalised.
Bassia About 10 species, native to Eurasia and Africa, with 4 species found in southern Africa. Found in salt marshes along the coast and along rivers.
* Beta About 12 species, found mainly in Europe and the Mediterranean. Includes Beta vulgaris (Beetroot, Sugarbeet, Mangel-wurzel), which has become established as an escapee from cultivation in southern Africa, mainly in the Western Cape.
Chenopodium About 150 species, found worldwide, with 22 species in southern Africa, most of which (13 species) are naturalised and occur as weeds. The leaves of a number of species are cooked and eaten in the same way as spinach.
* Einadia Six species, native to Australia and New Zealand. Einadia nutans has become naturalised in southern Africa.
Exomis The sole species, Exomis microphylla, is native to arid areas of southern Africa.
Kochia About 5 species, native to Africa and Eurasia, with one species, Kochia tricophylla, found in southern Africa (Northern and Eastern Cape).
Manochlamys The one species, Manochlamys albicans, is native to Namibia and South Africa (Northern and Western Cape).

Subfamily: Salicornioideae (formerly in family Chenopodiaceae)

Halopeplis There are 3 species, found in southern Europe, Western Asia and Africa, with 1 species, Halopeplis amplexicaulis, found in southern Africa in saline habitats of the West Coast.
Halosarcia The 23 species are nearly all endemic to Australia, except for one species which has a wide distribution along the shores of the Indian Ocean, including the coast of Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal.
Salicornia About 13 species, found nearly worldwide, but not Australia. Four species in southern Africa, found along the coast in sheltered, saline conditions.
Sarcocornia About 15 species, found nearly worldwide, with 9 species in southern Africa, which are found along the coast.

Subfamily: Salsoloideae (formerly in family Chenopodiaceae)

Salsola

About 150 species, native to Europe, Asia and Africa, where it occurs in arid and semi-arid regions. About 89 species are found in southern Africa, including the introduced weed Salsola kali, which is native to Asia.

Suaeda

About 110 species, found worldwide but mainly in the northern Hemisphere. The 6 species in southern Africa are found in saline conditions both inland and along the seashore.

Economically important species

Amaranthus hybridus (Common Pigweed) Abundant broadleafed weed originating from Central America. Eaten like Spinach.
Beta vulgaris (Beetroot, Sugarbeet, Mangel-wurzel) All the varieties of this domestic species ultimately originate from wild Sea Beet Beta maritima which is indigenous to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic seaboard of Europe.
Celosia cristata (Cockscomb) Colourful garden plant.
Spinacea oleracea (Spinach) Spinacea oleracea appears to have been selectively cultivated from Spinacea tetrandra which is indigenous to the mountainous regions of southwestern Asia (the Himalayas and Afghanistan). The first known record of using Spinach as a vegetable dates back to China in the 7th to 8th centuries AD and the first record of its use in Europe dates to the 1200's.

Publications

Brenan, J.P.M. 1988. Chenopodiaceae. Flora Zambesiaca 9,1: 133-161.
Jordaan, M. 2000. Amaranthaceae. In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 49-56. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Jordaan, M. 2000. Chenopodiaceae. In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 221-226. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.

Text by Hamish Robertson