CERINTHE RETORTA

Family:- BORAGINACEAE

Common Name:- Lesser honeywort, Violet honeywort.

Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Cerinthe (Gr) Wax-flower.

Retorta (L) Twisted or turned back.

General description:- Slightly bristly short to medium annual, green or bluish-

green.

Stem:-

a) 10-50 cm.

b) Erect.

c) usually branched above.

Leaves:-

a) all leaves usually with some white swellings.

1) Lamina:

a) lower, oval to oblong, often broadest above the middle.

b) upper, oval and clasping the stem with a heart-shaped (cordate) base.

Flowers:-

1) Bracts:

a) ovate, heart-shaped (cordate) at the base.

b) equalling the calyx.

c) violet.

2) Corolla:

a) 10-15 x 3-5 mm.

b) curved above and constricted at the throat.

c) pale yellow, violet distally.

d) lobes ovate, sharply recurved at the apex.

Fruit:-

1) Nutlets:

a) blackish.

Key features:-

1) Corolla-lobes ovate, sharply recurved at apex, much shorter than the rest of the

corolla, pale yellow, violet distally.

Habitat:- Seasonally damp rocky ledges and rocky hillslopes, olive groves,

roadsides. 0-900 m.

Distribution:- Occurring from the Balkans to Turkey, including Crete. Rare on

Crete.

Flowering time:- Mid-Feb to May.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton