ORNITHOPUS PINNATUS
Common Names:- None
Homotypic Synonyms:- Artrolobium pinnatum, Scorpiurus pinnatus.
Meaning:- Ornithopus (Gr) Bird-foot, (the disposition of the fruits)
Pinnatus (L) Set in two opposite ranks, winged, feathered, pinnate.
General description:- Slender, appressed-pubescent or subglabrous annual.
Stems:-
1) 5-25 cm. branched from the base.
Leaves:-
1) Imparipinnate with 3-7 pairs of oblanceolate leaflets.
Flowers:-
1) Peduncle, slender, somewhat shorter than the subtending leaf.
2) Flowers, in 1-4-flowered heads, ebracteate or with a small, scarious bract.
3) Corolla, 6-8 mm, yellow.
4) Calyx teeth, triangular, much shorter than the cylindrical tube.
Fruit:-
1) Legume, 20-35 mm, curved, terete, not contracted between the segments,
segments (6-)8-12, cylindrical, beak short, not more than 5 mm.
Key features:-
1) Leaflets, 3-7 pairs.
2) Flower head, ebracteate or with a small, scarious bract
Habitat:- Seasonally flooded coastal habitats, open coniferous woodland, by
streams and damp spots in fallow flelds, 0-400 m.
Distribution:- Coastal areas of W Greece, lacking in the interior. - SW Europe and
Medlterranean region, extending to W Anatolia and W Syria. Rare on Crete
currently know from only two locations.
Flowering time:- March to May
Photos by:- A.N. Other