Anabasis syriaca Iljin
A. aphylla subsp. africana Maire, A. aphylla auct. Afr. N., A. zoharyi Iljin
Spa.: Gurullos. Fre.: Anabasis aphylle. Ara.: Ageram, ârjem, ajram, balbal, shnân, tartir, (Egypt): qilwe. Tam.: Tawussaya.
Evergreen subshrub, hermaphrodite, upright or ± prostrate, with articulated stems up to 1.5 m long. Never eaten by herbivores. Main trunk can reach a diameter of up to 3 cm. Bark greyish, fissured longitudinally. Branches and branchlets with green tones. Elongated articles up to 20 mm long and 2.5 mm wide. Leaves opposite, very small, squamiform, amplexicaul, fused to each other and to the stem forming an inverted cupule-like structure at the nodes; scarious margin with obtuse tip. Flowers hermaphrodite, solitary, axillary, grouped in spiciform inflorescences at the end of the branchlets. Perianth with 5 unequal parts: 3 outer parts broadly ovate, 2 internal parts oblong, all obtuse. Fruit bacciform, with a seed shaped as a spiral, arranged vertically, surrounded by 5 perianth parts; the 3 external parts each with a whitish, brown or purple wing.
Flowering:
August to October.
Fruiting:
September to November.
Habitat:
Dry, clayey, sometimes slightly saline soils. In eastern Morocco it is a typical species of the upper banks of wadis and silty spreading areas.
Distribution:
North Africa and western-central Asia. In North Africa its distribution is poorly known; it is restricted to the drier, often steppic areas of the Mediterranean region. In Morocco, in plains and peniplains SW of Marraquech, with the Anti-Atlas as the southern limit (except for along the Atlantic coast), the middle and lower basin of the Muluya and the arid plains of the oriental Rif. In Algeria in the steppic zone of the NE (Jenchela, Tebessa) and the eastern Saharan Atlas. In Tunisia, in the Saharan part of the N of the Chott el Djerid. In Egypt, in the Sinai Peninsula.
Conservation status:
It is a rare species but in principle it is not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) it is listed as “Vulnerable”.