ANTHYLLIS SPLENDENS

Family and Genus:- See- LEGUMINOSAE

Common Names:-

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Anthyllis (Gr) Downy-flower.

Splendens (L) Gleaming, striking, splendid.

General description:- Small, unarmed shrub, patent or pendent from cliff crevices.

Stems:-

1) Herbaceous part of the flowering shoots 5-10(-20) cm, densely sericeous.

Leaves:-

1) Imparipinnate with (9-)13-19 subequal, narrowly elliptical to narrowly obovate

leaflets, very narrowly elliptical to linear, often revolute.

Flowers:-

1) In long-pedunculate, subglobose racemes 20-30 mm wide.

3) Calyx, 6·5-9 mm, tubular-campanulate, with narrowly triangular, subequal teeth,

shorter than the whitish-hairy tube.

4) Corolla, 11-15 mm, creamy white to yellow.

Fruit:-

1) Ovate legume, shorter than the calyx.

2) 1-seeded.

Key features:-

1) Leaflets very narrowly elliptical to linear

2) Calyx, 6·5-9 mm.

3) Flowers in long-pedunculate, subglobose racemes.

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Habitat:- Crevices of ± vertical maritime limestone cliffs, often in inaccessible

places, 0-300i-700) m.

Distribution:- A rare Aegean endemic, known only from a few populations, but

collected in Crete already by Tourneiort. - Not recorded outside the Aegean area,

Flowering time:- Mar to June.

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