Neokochia americana

Neokochia americana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Neokochia
Species:	N. americana
Binomial name
	Neokochia americana; (S.Wats.) G.L.Chu & S.C.Sand.

Neokochia americana (syn. Bassia americana, Kochia americana) is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family, subfamily Camphorosmoideae,^[1] known by the common name green molly.

Description edit

Neokochia americana is a squat dwarf shrub growing many sprawling, mostly unbranched stems to a maximum height near 40 centimeters. The stems are covered in small, fleshy, knobby leaves less than 2 centimeters long. The stems and foliage are sometimes slightly hairy. Leaf anatomy is of the "C3 Neokochia americana type" with a thick-walled aqueous tissue.^[1] White-woolly flowers appear singly or in small clusters. The fruiting perianth is 5-winged.

Distribution edit

Neokochia americana is native to the western United States from California to Montana to Texas, where it grows in dry, alkaline soils such as alkali flats and desert washes. A closely related species is Neokochia californica.^[1]

References edit

^ ^a ^b ^c Gudrun Kadereit & Helmut Freitag: Molecular phylogeny of Camphorosmeae (Camphorosmoideae, Chenopodiaceae): Implications for biogeography, evolution of C4-photosynthesis and taxonomy, In: Taxon, Volume 60 (1), 2011, p. 51-78.

External links edit

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[kadereit-1] Gudrun Kadereit & Helmut Freitag: Molecular phylogeny of Camphorosmeae (Camphorosmoideae, Chenopodiaceae): Implications for biogeography, evolution of C4-photosynthesis and taxonomy, In: Taxon, Volume 60 (1), 2011, p. 51-78.

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