MALCOLMIA NANA

Family and Genus:- See- CRUCIFERAE

Common Names:- Maresia

Homotypic Synonyms:- Malcolmia nana,,Maresia nana, Maresia nana var.

dasycarpa, Matthiola nana, Sisymbrium nanum

Meaning:- Malcolmia (L) For William Malcolm, eighteenth-century English

nurseryman.

Nana (L) Dwarf.

General description:- Slender annuals usually branched from the base,densely

tomentose with stellate hairs throughout.

Stems:-

1) 5-25 cm.

Leaves:-

1) Basal, petiolate.

2) Cauline, subsessile, oblong-oblanceolate, all margins entire or sinuate-dentate.

Flower:-

1) Pinkish-lilac, 4-5mm, borne in flat-topped clusters overtopped by the developing

fruits.

2) Petals, 3-5 mm, entire.

3) Sepals, 1.5-2.5 mm.

4) Pedicels, very short at anthesis, 3-5 mm in fruit.

5) Style, short but distinct.

6) Stigma, capitate.

Fruit:-

1) Siliquae, 10-25 x 0.7-1 mm slightly torulose with dense stellate hairs.

2) Seeds, minute (c. 0.6 mm).

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Sandy beaches and dunes, rarely more than a few hundred meters from

the sea. 0-10(-50) m.

Distribution:- Mediterranean and the shores of Black Sea northwards to S.E.

Bulgaria. Confined mainly to northeast coastal areas of Crete.

Flowering time:- Mar-May.

Photos by:- Dr. Armin Jagel