Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

Calligonum

Calligonum is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with about 41 species native to Northern Africa, Western, South, and Central Asia, and central China.

Last revised
Jul 18, 2026
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≈ 2 min
Length
479 w
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Wikipedia ↗
Calligonum
Calligonum polygonoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Subfamily: Polygonoideae
Genus: Calligonum
L.
Species

See text

Synonyms1
  • Calliphysa Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Gibsonia Stocks
  • Pallasia L.f.
  • Polygonoides Ortega
  • Pterococcus Pall.

Calligonum is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with about 41 species native to Northern Africa, Western, South, and Central Asia, and central China.1

Description

Plants of the genus Calligonum are shrubs, diffusely but irregularly branched, with flexuous woody branches. Leaves are simple, opposite, nearly sessile, linear or scale-like, sometimes absent or very small, linear or filiform, distinct or united with short membranous ochreae. Flowers are bisexual, solitary or in loose axillary inflorescences. Flowers have persistent, 5-parted perianths not accrescent in fruit, and 10-18 stamens with filaments connate at the base. The ovary is tetragonous.23

Taxonomy

The genus Calligonum was first published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.4 It is placed in the subfamily Polygonoideae, tribe Calligoneae, along with its sister genus, Pteropyrum.5

Species

41 species are accepted.1

  • Calligonum acanthopterum I.G.Borshch.
  • Calligonum alatosetosum Maassoumi & Kazempour
  • Calligonum aphyllum (Pall.) Gürke
  • Calligonum arborescens Litv.
  • Calligonum azel Maire
  • Calligonum babakianum Godw.
  • Calligonum bakuense Litv.
  • Calligonum × barsukiense Soskov
  • Calligonum bucocladum Bunge
  • Calligonum bykovii Godw.
  • Calligonum × calcareum Pavlov
  • Calligonum calvescens Maire
  • Calligonum caput-medusae Schrenk ex Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Calligonum comosum L'Hér.
  • Calligonum crinitum Boiss.
  • Calligonum crispum Bunge
  • Calligonum cristatum Bunge
  • Calligonum × densum I.G.Borshch.
  • Calligonum × dissectum Popov
  • Calligonum × dubianskyi Litv.
  • Calligonum ebinuricum N.A.Ivanova ex Soskov
  • Calligonum eriopodum Bunge
  • Calligonum inerme Kamelin, Gorelova & A.V.Pavlenko
  • Calligonum jeminaicum Z.M.Mao
  • Calligonum junceum (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) Litv.
  • Calligonum klementzii Losinsk.
  • Calligonum laristanicum Rech.f. & Schiman-Czeika
  • Calligonum leucocladum (Schrenk) Bunge
  • Calligonum litwinowii Drobow
  • Calligonum macrocarpum I.G.Borshch.
  • Calligonum matteianum Drobow
  • Calligonum microcarpum I.G.Borshch.
  • Calligonum mongolicum Turcz.
  • Calligonum murex Bunge
  • Calligonum × paletzkianum Litv.
  • Calligonum polygonoides L.
  • Calligonum rubicundum Bunge
  • Calligonum santoanum Korovin
  • Calligonum schizopterum Rech.f. & Schiman-Czeika
  • Calligonum setosum (Litv.) Litv.
  • Calligonum spinosetosum Maassoumi & Batooli
  • Calligonum × spinulosum Drobow
  • Calligonum × squarrosum Pavlov
  • Calligonum taklimakanense B.R.Pan & K.M.Shen
  • Calligonum tetrapterum Jaub. & Spach
  • Calligonum trifarium Z.M.Mao
  • Calligonum triste Litv.
  • Calligonum turbineum Pavlov
  • Calligonum zakirovii (Khalk.) Czerep.
References

References

  1. "Calligonum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  2. "Calligonum". Flora of Pakistan. Retrieved 2013-11-23 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. Bojian, Bao; Grabovskaya-Borodina, Alisa E. "Calligonum". Flora of China. Vol. 5. Retrieved 2013-11-23 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. "Calligonum L." International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  5. Schuster, Tanja M.; Reveal, James L.; Bayly, Michael J. & Kron, Kathleen A. (2015), "An updated molecular phylogeny of Polygonoideae (Polygonaceae): Relationships of Oxygonum, Pteroxygonum, and Rumex, and a new circumscription of Koenigia", Taxon, 64 (6): 1188–1208, Bibcode:2015Taxon..64.1188S, doi:10.12705/646.5