Zygophyllum

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	Med. to C Asia, S Africa, Australia

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Zygophyllaceae >

Zygophyllum >

Read about Zygophyllum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Zygophyllum (yoke leaf, from the paired or opposite lfts. or lvs.). Zygophyllaceae. Small often spiny twiggy shrubs or subshrubs, with stiff branches, of about 60 species in Eu. and Asia but mostly in S. Afr. and Austral., apparently not in the American trade but likely to be planted for ornament now and then by amateurs in the warmer and drier parts of the country. Lvs. simple or 2-foliolate: fls. white or yellowish or red, on 1-fld. peduncles; calyx 4-5-parted; petals 4 or 5, clawed, twisted; stamens 8-10; disk fleshy and angled; ovary 4- or 5-celled, sessile: fr. an angled or winged caps. Prop. by seeds or cuttings. The species most likely to appear in collections are perhaps Z. Fabago, Linn., the Syrian bean-caper, with obovate lfts., copper-yellow fls., deep strong root and nearly or quite herbaceous top, S. W. Asia; Z. Morgsana, Linn., with obovate obtuse lfts., long yellow petals, and shrubby habit, from S. Afr.: Z. spinosum, Linn., with linear lfts., yellowish or whitish nodding fls., a small bush only 1-2 ft. high, from S. Afr. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Genus of 80 herbs or shrubs. Jointed branches. Belong to twinleaf (Zygophyllaceae) family.

Flowers from leaf axils. Come solitary or in pairs. Overlapping fleshy sepals.

Simple leaves or sometimes split into 2 fleshy leaflets having 2 spiny stipules.

Fruit is winged or angular capsule.

Cultivation

Need protection of a greenhouse in cold climates.

Propagation

Seed or springtime cuttings.

Species

There are over 50 species including the following:

• Zygophyllum giessii
• Zygophyllum fabago
• Zygophyllum simile
• Zygophyllum stapfii (Dollar Bush)

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
• Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381

External links

• w:Zygophyllum. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Zygophyllum QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)