Alhagi maurorum

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Short description: Species of flowering plant in the pea family

Alhagi maurorum
Alhagi maurorum flowers
Scientific classification edit
Missing taxonomy template (fix): Alhagi
Species:
Binomial name
Template:Taxonomy/AlhagiAlhagi maurorum
Medik.
Varieties[1]
  • Alhagi maurorum var. maurorum
  • (Boiss.) Meilke Alhagi maurorum var. turcorum
Synonyms[1]
Wild Alhagi in Behbahan, Iran
Alhagi maurorum in Behbahan, Iran

Alhagi maurorum is a species of legume commonly known, variously, as camelthorn,[2] Caspian manna,[2] and Persian mannaplant.[2] This shrub is native to Eurasia, but has been introduced to many other areas of the world.

Description

The perennial plant grows from a massive rhizome system which may extend over 1.8 metres (6 ft) into the ground. New shoots can appear over 6 m (20 ft) from the parent plant. Above the ground, the plant grows up to 0.9 metres (3 ft) tall.[3] It is a heavily branched, gray-green thicket with long spines along the branches. The deciduous leaves are oval to egg-shaped, up to 1 centimetre (12 in) long.[3]

It bears small, bright pink to maroon pea flowers up to 1 cm (38 in) long and small legume pods, which are brown or reddish, up to 2.5 cm (1 in), and constricted between the seeds.[3] The seeds are mottled brown beans.

Distribution and habitat

Alhagi maurorum is indigenous to temperate and tropical Eurasia and the Middle East, in: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northwest China, Cyprus, northern India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia (in Ciscaucasia, Dagestan, southern European Russia, and the southern part of the West Siberian Plain).[2]

The species has become naturalized in Australia, the southwest United States,[2] and southern Africa.

Ecology

Alhagi maurorum is a noxious weed outside its native range.[3] It is a contaminant of alfalfa seed, and grows readily when accidentally introduced to a cultivated field. It has a wide soil tolerance, thriving on saline, sandy, rocky, and dry soils. It does best when growing next to a source of water, such as an irrigation ditch. It is unpalatable to animals and irritating when it invades forage and grazing land.

Uses

Alhagi maurorum has been used locally in folk medicine as a treatment for glandular tumors, nasal polyps, and ailments related to the bile ducts.[4] It is used as a medicinal herb for its gastroprotective, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, antidiarrhoeal and antiseptic properties, and in the treatment of rheumatism and hemorrhoids. The plant is mentioned in the Quran as a source of sweet manna.[5] It has also been used as a sweetener.[2]

In the folk medicine of Iran, A. maurorum decoction has been used for jaundice therapy.[6]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Alhagi maurorum Medik." (in en). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/473473-1. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The name Alhagi maurorum, replacing Linnaeus' Hedysarum alhagi, was first published in Vorlesungen der Churpfälzischen physicalisch-ökonomischen Gesellschaft 2: 397. 1787. {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Alhagi maurorum | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = November 13, 2011 }}
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 184. ISBN 978-1-60469-263-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=VLbAAwAAQBAJ. 
  4. James A. Duke. "Alhagi maurorum (FABACEAE)". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/ethnoPlants/show/3405?qlookup=Alhagi+maurorum. 
  5. Tafsir al-Jalalayn. 1505. p. 171. https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=7&tAyahNo=160&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2. Retrieved 8 October 2020. 
  6. Tewari D, Mocan A, Parvanov ED, Sah AN, Nabavi SM, Huminiecki L, Ma ZF, Lee YY, Horbańczuk JO, Atanasov AG (Aug 2017). "Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I". Front Pharmacol 8: 518. doi:10.3389/fphar.2017.00518. PMID 28860989. 

Wikidata ☰ Q2918709 entry




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