Anabasis articulata (Forssk.) Moq.
Salsola articulata Forssk.
Fre.: Anabasis. Ara.: Agram, rimth. Tam.: Tassa, benda, bandar, abelbel.
Evergreen shrub, hermaphrodite, upright, up to 0.5 m in height, with articulated stems and highly divided short branches, not very appetizing for herbivores. Old woody stems with glaucous gray bark. Glaucous, pale green or yellowish green twigs, with articles up to 9 x 4 mm. Articles slightly longer than wide (6-10 x 2-4.5). Opposite leaves, very small, squamiform, amplexicaul welded to each other and with the stem, obtuse or slightly acute, with a scarious apex, with abundant woolly hairs in the axillae. Hermaphrodite flowers, axillary, grouped in spiciform inflorescences in the apical part of the twigs. Perianth with 5 membranous, unequal parts. The fruit is a berry with a vertically arranged spiral-shaped seed. Fruiting perianth with 5 reddish or purple wings, which turn pink with time.
Flowering:
August-November.
Fruiting:
September-December.
Habitat:
Clay, gypsum or saline soils in a very dry, even arid climate.
Distribution:
N of Africa from the Maghreb to Lebanon and SE of the Iberian Peninsula. Curiously, this species is not known to the N of the Hammada of the Drâa or the Saharan Atlas, but it lives in the arid SE of the Iberian Peninsula.
Observations:
Plants of this species are usually in good condition since they are not very appetized to the herbivores.
Conservation status:
Relatively common and widely distributed species that is not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the updated red list of Egypt (Shaltout & Bedair, 2023) it has been considered as Least Concern (LC).
