HODELUS RAMOSUS subsp. RAMOSUS

Family:- ASPHODELACEAE

Common Name:- White asphodel

Synonym:- None

Meaning:- Asphodelus (Gr) Silver rod.

Ramosus (L) Much branched, branching.

General description:- Robust, medium to tall perennial with numerous fleshy

roots.

Stem:-

a) up to 1m.

Leaves:-

a) 12-30 mm wide.

b) strap-shaped, flat, slightly keeled beneath.

c) grey-green.

Flowers:-

1) Blooms:

a) 20-30 mm.

b) borne in a much-branched inflorescence with the side branches short and

stubby.

2) Petals:

a) usually 13-16 mm long.

b) white with a pinkish-brown mid-vein.

3) Bracts:

a) whitish.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule:

a) 8-14 x 5-11 mm.

b) ovoid.

Key features:-

1) Bracts whitish, sometimes becoming brown on drying.

2) Inflorescence usually branched, the terminal branch scarcely exceeding the

laterals.

3) Capsule 8-20 mm, ovoid.

Habitat:- Open shrubby places, rocky slopes, waste ground, roadsides, olive

groves, open pine forest, occasionally on the seashore.

Distribution:- Italy, Sicily, the Balkans and Crete eastwards. Widespread and

common on Crete.

Flowering time:- Jan-May.

Photo by:- Steve Lenton