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Bienertia cycloptera is a species of flowering plant that is native to the Middle East, south-eastern Europe, and central Asia. It is a succulent, smooth annual plant with long, curved, cylindrical leaves. Its flowers have both male and female reproducing parts and its fruits are small and spherical. Bienertia cycloptera grows in hot, dry climates with little rainfall and prefers soils with high salinity levels. Due to its specific growing conditions, B. cycloptera is not a very common, nor widespread plant. Even over most of its range, it often grows sparsely in small patches of growth. One notable aspect of Bienertia cycloptera is its unique C4 photosynthesis mechanism. Unlike most C4 plants, in B. cycloptera the photosynthetic mechanism occurs within a single chlorenchyma cell, without Kranz anatomy.

Distribution
Bienertia cycloptera is located throughout the middle east, south-eastern Europe, and central Asia. The species can be found in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The range of Bienertia cycloptera throughout the Eurasian supercontinent covers an area from 24° to 49° N latitude and from 43° to 67° E longitude. It has an estimated range of 180 sq. km. in the Yerevan floristic region of Armenia, but occupies a mere 28 sq. km. of area.

Habitat and Ecology
Bienertia cycloptera favors very hot climates. It grows in regions where the hottest months have a daily temperature between 20°C and 30°C, and annual precipitation averages 1.5 centimeters. Bienertia cycloptera prefers highly salty, but temporarily moist clay soils. The soils are rich in sodium ions and sulfate ions, with salinity ranging between 21 ds/m to 90 ds/m. In most habitats, Climacoptera turcomanica can be found alongside Bioemertia cycloptera.

Bienertia cycloptera is an endangered species. Due to the historically saline soils of the Aarat Plain becoming more suitable for humans and therefore less saline, the B. cycloptera have not been able to regrow. It falls under Category 1 of endangered species according to the Red Data Book of Armenia. Conservation efforts have been underway with a protected population in the Vordan Karmir Reservation. These efforts include monitoring the remaining populations and searching for new habitats.