Wide Scene on Halophytes

Abstract

This work dealt with the different types of halophytes; obligate, facultative, and habitat-indifferent halophytes with the indication of the main angiosperm families containing each category. In the same time it summarizes the most dominant halophyte species and their belonging families and their degree of adaptation to salt habitats. These genera and species, which are more than five hundred, were belonging to more than 70 Angiosperm families. These species can be further classified according to their life span into perennial herbs or shrubs and annuals and according to their ecological habitats and adaptations to salinity into: Halophytes, Hygrophytes, Phanerophytes, Xerophytes and Succulents. Genera belonging to the major angiosperm families containing the maximum number of taxa are the Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae (34 taxa; 22.08%), Poaceae (21 taxa; 13.64%), Fabaceae (14 taxa; 9.09%), and Asteraceae (13 taxa; 8.44%). Meantime the main halophytic adaptations have been mentioned, with the indication to the mangrove plants which share some common characteristics based upon physiological, reproductive and morphological adaptations. Mangrove has approximately 54 species of plants belonging to about 20 genera in 16 families. This work high lighting the taxonomic revision of genus Salsola as one of the most important halophytic genus within the Chenopodiaceae. Hints on the pollen grains characters, anatomical features and chemical constituents of halophytes, in general, in Salsola specified were mentioned.