Acanthophyllum squarrosum

Tilcayo Cats original · Plants · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Acanthophyllum squarrosum is a small woody perennial in the pink family, Caryophyllaceae. Its native range extends from the southern Caucasus through Iran and Afghanistan to western Pakistan. The species was named by Boissier in 1854.

Appearance and classification

The Flora of Pakistan describes a much-branched plant about 10–30 centimetres tall. Its narrow, pointed leaves spread outwards or curve back, with small clusters of spiny leaves at the stem joints. White or pink flowers form clusters at the ends of the branches; the petals project beyond a short, tubular calyx, the outer cup of the flower.

That flora used a broader species concept, including Acanthophyllum stocksianum as a variety. Kew now accepts A. stocksianum as a separate species. The older description therefore needs to be read with this difference in classification in mind.

Relationships and genetic research

A 2019 study examined A. squarrosum together with the closely related A. heratense and A. laxiusculum, plants of subalpine steppe in the Irano-Turanian region. The researchers compared nuclear and chloroplast DNA from eighty plants in eight populations.

The genetic results did not divide the three named species into clearly separate groups. The authors suggested that this could reflect the persistence of shared ancestral genetic variation, or gene exchange between the plants. Differences between the nuclear and chloroplast results also suggested gene exchange among populations. These findings concern the sampled species complex; they do not by themselves establish that its three names should be merged.