DESCURAINIA SOPHIA

Family and Genus:- See- CRUCIFERAE

Common Names:- Flixweed

Homotypic Synonyms:- Arabis sophia, Crucifera sophia, Discurea sophia,

Phryne sophia, Sisymbrium sophia, Sophia sophia, Sophia vulgaris.

Meaning:- Descurainia (L) For Francois Descourain (1658-1740), French

physician.

Sophia (Gr) Knowledge, craft, wisdom (the use of flixweed in treating

dysentry or flux, Sophia of the craft of surgeons).

General description:- Erect annual or biennial.

Stem:-

1) 25-80bcm tall, usually with a greyish indumentum of simple and stellate hairs

below, green and glabrescent above.

Leaves:-

1) 2- or 3- pinnatisect into narrow segments.

Flowers:-

1) Raceme, ebracteate, many-flowered.

2) Petals, 1.5-3 mm, ± equalling the sepals, pale yellow.

3) Fruiting pedicels, 10-15 mm, slender, patent to ascending.

Fruit:-

1) Silicula, erecto-patent, linear, 10-30 x 0.6-1 mm. Valves reticulately veined.

2) Seeds, 20-35, in 1 row.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Sandy flats, gravelly roadsides, field margins and wasteground. 0-600 m.

Distribution:- Fairly common in N & NE Greece, rare and scattered south of 39^oN.

- Widespread Euro-Siberian species introduced elsewhere. The Cretan record is

probably a casual introduction.

Flowering time:- Apr-June.

Photos by:- Courtesy of Wiki-Commons