FRANKENIA PULVERULENTA subsp. PULVERULENTA

Family and Genus:- See- FRANKENIACEAE

Common Names:- Powdery or annual sea-heath.

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Frankenia (L) For John Frankenius (1590-1661), Swedish botanist.

Pulverulenta (L) Covered in powder, powdery, full of dust.

General description:- Non-woody annual.

Stems:-

1) Up to 30 cm, procumbent, often mat-forming, rarely erect, sparsely or densely

puberulent.

Leaves:-

1) Opposite, decussate, subsessile, 2-7 x 1-3 mm, narrowly obovate, often retuse,

with flat or slightly recurved margins, sparsely puberulent above, puberulent-

farinose beneath.

Flowers:-

1) Crowded, secund, in short terminal and axillary spikes.

2) Calyx, c. 4 rmn, narrowly cylindrical, ribbed, subglabrous.

3) Petals, 5, free, c. 5 mm, spathulate, pink.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, c. 1.5 mm, triquetrous, enclosed in the calyx when ripe.

Key features:-

1) Leaves, obovate or oblong-spathulate, usually plane.

Habitat:- Rocky and sandy coastal habitats, occasionally in sandy fallow fields and

ruderal habitats some distance inland. 0-50 m.

Distribution:- Rare in W Greece. Widespread in the Mediterranean region,

extending to C Asia and Arabia. Limited distribution around the coastal areas of

Crete.

Flowering time:- Mar-July.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton