Taxon	Illustrator ⠉
	Spinacia oleracea Zuckia brandegeei var. brandegeei Zuckia brandegeei var. arizonica	Bee F. Gunn Bee F. Gunn Bee F. Gunn

Herbs, annual or biennial, monoecious, glabrous. Stems erect, not branched, not jointed, not armed, not fleshy. Leaves basal or alternate, petiolate; blade triangular-hastate to ovate, sometimes with elongated lobes, margins entire or dentate, apex acute. Inflorescences: pistillate flowers sessile in leaf-axils; staminate flowers in dense terminal spikes. Flowers unisexual, rarely bisexual; staminate flowers with perianth segments 4–5, stamens 4–5; pistillate flowers enclosed by 2 accrescent or connate bracts, perianth absent, stigmas 4–5. Fruiting structures enlarged and hardened bracteoles enclosing achenes; pericarp adherent. Seeds vertical, seed-coat dark, spiny or smooth; hardened bracteoles serving as seed-coat; embryo annular; perisperm copious. x = 6.

Distribution

Introduced; Eurasia

Discussion

Species 3 (1 in the flora).

The chromosome base number of six is unusual in the Chenopodiaceae. B. L. Turner (1994b) suggested that members with a base of nine, the most common number in the family, may be derived.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Spinacia oleracea