CARTHAMUS LEUCOCAULOS

Family:- COMPOSITAE

Common Names:- None

Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Carthamus. From Hebrew for painted one.

Leucocaulos (Gr) White stemmed, with a white stem.

General description:- Thistle-like, usually almost hairless annual, rarely with a

web-like covering of hairs or scales, sometimes sparsely glandular.

Stems:-

1) Erect, rather rigid.15-40 cm tall.whitish or pale purple, glabrescent, without

spots, usually simple below and branched above into a fairly dense corymb.

Leaves:-

1) Cauline, sessile, rigid and shiny, with 2-4 pairs of narrowly triangular, subentire

lobes produced into strong spines.

Flowers:-

1) Capitula 10-13 mm diam.

2) Incolucre narrowly ovoid, rather small, c.10 mm in diam.

3) Outer phyllaries at least twice as long as the inner.

4) Middle phyllaries ovate-lanceolate, entire, without an appendage.

5) Florets pale rose-pink to purplish.

6) Corolla white to pale-violet.

7) Corolla lobes 3-3.5 mm.

Fruit:-

1) Achenes whitish.

2) Pappus of narrow, parallel-sided, usually truncate scales 5-7 mm.

Key features:-

1) Inner involucral bracts oblong-lanceolate, entire, without apical appendages.

2) Plant usually subglabrous.

3) Stems white to purple, without spots.

4) Cauline leaves pinnatisect to pinnate, with spinose segments, shiny.

5) Pappus-scales usually truncate.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Open dry shrubby vegetation. Juniperus phoenicea scrub, fallow fields,

open coniferous woodland, dry stony grassland. 0-700(-1200) m

Distribution:- Endemic Crete, S Greece & Aegean. Limited distribution on Crete.

Flowering time:- May-July.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton