ANTHEMIS FILICAULIS

Family:- COMPOSITAE/Subgen. Ammanthus

Common Names:- None

Synonyms:- Ammanthus filicaulis

Meaning:- Anthemis (Gr) Flowery.

Filicaulis (Gr) Having very thin stems.

General description:- Appressed-hairy annual.

Stems:-

1) 2-14 cm, ascending or decumbent, very slender, usually simple, purplish.

Leaves:-

1) Basal, up to 3 cm, pinnatipartite; segments 2 on each side, lanceolate or

elliptical, entire to 3-fid; lobes shortly mucronate.

2) Cauline, pinnatipartite, with entire to 3-fid segments, or spathulate and 3- to 5-

lobed or entire and linear.

3) Peduncles slightly clavate in fruit.

Flowers:-

1) Involucre, hemispherical or hemispherical-conical, appressed-hairy.

2) Outer bracts, linear-oblong, subacute, with a narrow hyaline margin, the others

oblong-ovate, obtuse, with wide hyaline, long-ciliate margin.

3) Ligules, 5-7, c. 3 × 2·5 mm, broadly elliptical to suborbicular, sometimes absent.

4) Disc, 4-8 mm in diam.

5) Receptacle, shortly ovoid, roundish at apex, without scales.

Fruit:-

1) Outer achenes, up to 3 mm, cylindrical, slightly curved, persistent, with erose-

denticulate corona c. 1 mm.

2) Inner achenes, c. 2·5 mm, cylindrical-obconical, corona 0·75-1 mm, caducous.

Key features:-

1) Leaves not fleshy, the lobes acute.

2) Outer achenes cylindrical, obscurely ribbed, persistent, the inner cylindric-

obconical, distinctly ribbed, caduceus.

Click here for a glossary of terms used

Habitat:- Limestone cliffs, rocky slopes and windswept coastal phrygana,

occasionally up to 300 m.

Distribution:- Endemic to the Cretan area and small SE Aegean islands.

Flowering time:- April-June

Photos by:- Nikos Marakis

Protection Status:-

Greek Presidential Decree 67/81