Suaeda monoica Forsk.

Oases, eastern desert, Res Sea coastal strip, Gebel Elba and Sinai.

Cape Verde Islands, Chad, east Africa; Mozammmbique, Sudan, Egypt, south Dead Sea, Arabia, Iran and Sri Lanka.

Coastal and inland sandy soils, edges of salt marshes.

Despite the variability in growth form and size of individuals and leaves, the species is remarkably homogenous in all essential characters.

Used as ointment for wounds (Burkill 1909).

Shrub or small tree up to 3 m in height and diameter, annual fruiting branches usually drooping, in living stage dark green, black when dried, glabrous except for a thin indumentum of fugacious curled hairs on the youngest organs. Stem divaricately branched, at base up to 15 cm thick, young branches erect or ascending, pale green or purplish, smooth, with internodes on main stems 3-7 mm long, on side branches even shorter, after shedding of leaves rough by the remains of leaf bases, turning grey, later becoming longitudinally fissured, gnarled, with remnants of shed side branches. Leaves moderately to distinctly succulent, (8)10-20(24) x 1.7-2.5(3) mm, 0.5-1(1.5) mm thick, flattened or moderately convex on both sides, more rarely semi-terete, linear, obtuse, at base attenuate into a short petiole, straight ascending, with C4 anatomy and central aqueous tissue, along each side with a narrow hyaline line caused by a gap in the peripheral chlorenchyma.. Inflorescences spike-like, terminating lateral branches, at base usually with female, apically with male flowers. Bracts 3-8(15) x 1.5-2 mm, linear to oblong, spreading or ascending, in basal part eventually incurved. Flowers 1-many, usually in axillary clusters, female flowers sometimes placed up to 1.5(2) mm on the petiole or in very condensed up to 2.5 mm long axillary shoots. Bracteoles membranous, sometimes thickened in lower part of the dorsal line, the larger usually 0.75-1.2 x 0.7-1 mm, deltoid to broadly ovate, with entire margins. Male and some bisexual flowers funnel-shaped, 2.5-2.7 mm long, tepals fused for c. 1/3, the free apical parts linear, with ±cucullate apex. Stamens 5, inserted on an epitepalous rim; filaments finally 1.2-1.5 mm long, narrowed from 0.25 mm at base to 0.1 mm; anthers 1.3-1.6 x 0.8-1.0 x 0.6 mm, divided for c. 1/2; pistil 1.5-1.7 mm long or rudimentary. Female flowers shortly cylindric to almost globular, 1-2 mm long, tepal lobes in larger flowers fused for 1/3, in smaller flowers up to 2/3. Stamens rudimentary. Ovary 0.7-1.2 mm long, cylindric, pear-shaped or ovoid, stigmas 3, 0.5-0.7(1) mm long, eventually with a rather widened base, with long and thick papillae (up to 1,5x stigma diam.), inserted in the sunken centre of the collar-like ovary apex. Fruiting perianth moderately enlarged, 1.2-2.5 mm long, at base with sunken hilum surrounded by 5 circular grooves, 1.2-1.5 mm wide, shortly cylindric and longitudinally ribbed, or sponge-like inflated up to 2.2 mm wide and then ovoid, obovoid or almost globular. Seeds vertical, tightly enclosed by the perianth, 1.2-1.4(1.5) long, 1.0-1.1 mm wide, 0.75-0.8 mm thick, slightly flattened, beak short; testa black, strongly shining, smooth.

Distribution: From the Sahel and the coasts of tropical Africa through the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula along the shores of the Indian Ocean eastwards at least up to Madras, northwards up to the Dead Sea area in Palestine and Jordan.

Saharo-Sindian.

Fl. Per.: August-October.

On moderately salty clay, loam or sand along dry river beds, larger runnels and at the base of coastal cliffs in habitats with some groundwater flow.

Suaeda monoica is a species of flowering plant in the sea-blite genus Suaeda, largely native to the shores of the Indian Ocean from South Africa to Sri Lanka, and salty areas inland. It has been introduced in Argentina. It exhibits phenotypic plasticity, with leaves that are much more succulent when grown under higher salinity conditions. Its leaves are edible, and it is used as an animal fodder plant where it grows.