MATTHIOLA INCANA

Family and Genus:- See- CRUCIFERAE

Common Names:- Hoary stock

Homotypic Synonyms:- Cheiranthus incanus, Hesperis incana, Mathiolaria

incana, Microstigma incanum.

Meaning:- Matthiola (L) For Pierandrea Mattioli (1501-77, Italian physician and

botanist.

Incana (L) Quite grey, hoary-white, grey.

General description:- Plant densely white-tomentose to subglabrous, greyish-

green, perennial with a woody base.

Stem:-

1) 10-80 cm.

Leaves:-

1) Oblong, untoothed or slightly toothed, divided into blunt lobes,

2) Cauline, generally unlobed.

3) Lower, 5-22 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, rarely oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or

subacute.

Flower:-

1) Petals, margins, flexuous, 20-30 x 4-12 mm.

2) Sepals, 9-15 mm.

3) Lower pedicels, 7-25 mm in fruit.

4) Stigma, narrower than the siliqua, without conspicuous horns.

Fruit:-

1) Siliqua, 45-160 x 3-5 mm, erecto-patent, compressed.

Key features:-

1) Siliquae, compressed, eglandular.

2) Basal, leaves entire or almost entire.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Coastal cliffs, seashores sometimes in open dry shrubby vegetation, field

margins, wasteground and on old stone walls. 0-100(-400) m.

Distribution:- Throughout Greece. - Coasts of the Mediterranean region and W

Europe; often cultivated as an ornamental and naturalise. Currently rare on Crete

and known only from a couple of locations. An introduced species that has become

naturalised.

Flowering time:- Mar to mid-June.

Photos by:- Enda McMullen