TAILIEUCHUNG - Odyssea mucronata, Sesbania sericea, and Sesamum alatum-new discoveries for the flora of Saudi Arabia

During field studies in sand dune areas and some habitats close to wetland ecosystems of the Tihama region of Jazan Province in south-western Saudi Arabia, specimens of 3 interesting species belonging to the genera Odyssea (Poaceae), Sesbania (Papilionaceae). | Y. MASRAHI, A. AL-HUQAIL, T. AL-TURKI, J. THOMAS Research Article Turk J Bot 36 (2012): 39-48 © TÜBİTAK doi: Odyssea mucronata, Sesbania sericea, and Sesamum alatum– new discoveries for the flora of Saudi Arabia Yahya MASRAHI1, Arwa AL-HUQAIL2, Turki AL-TURKI3, Jacob THOMAS4,* 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, PO Box 2097, Jazan - SAUDI ARABIA 2 Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Noura Bint Abdulrehman University, PO Box 9750, Riyadh 11423 - SAUDI ARABIA 3 Natural Resources and Environmental Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, PO Box 6086, Riyadh 11451 - SAUDI ARABIA 4 Herbarium (KSU), Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh 11451 - SAUDI ARABIA Received: Accepted: Abstract: During field studies in sand dune areas and some habitats close to wetland ecosystems of the Tihama region of Jazan Province in south-western Saudi Arabia, specimens of 3 interesting species belonging to the genera Odyssea (Poaceae), Sesbania (Papilionaceae), and Sesamum (Pedaliaceae) were collected; they were identified as Odyssea mucronata (Forssk.) Stapf, Sesbania sericea (Willd.) Link., and Sesamum alatum Thonn. A review of the literature revealed that these tropical African taxa were never before recorded for the flora of Saudi Arabia. O. mucronata is represented by a relatively large isolated population. The other 2, S. sericea and S. alatum—components of a semi wetland ecosystem and sandy areas, respectively—are represented in the Arabian Peninsula by 2 relict populations. Morphology, habitat descriptions, illustrations, and taxonomic commentary of all 3 taxa are presented. Key words: Odyssea, Sesbania, Sesamum, Tihama region, Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia, Somalia-Masai region Introduction For several decades the flora of Saudi Arabia was thought to be poor in terms of plant diversity. This .

• Nông nghiệp
• Odyssea mucronata
• Sesbania sericea
• Tihama region
• Sesamum alatum
• Saudi Arabia
• Somalia Masai region